Jake Shields headlines WSOF 14 in Canada vs. Ryan Ford
Jake Shields will make his WSOF debut in October when he headlines WSOF 14 in Canada against a home-grown opponent.
Shields (29-7-1) will headline the card against Ryan Ford (22-4). WSOF officials confirmed the fight to MMAjunkie following an initial report from Top MMA News.
WSOF 14 is set for Oct. 11 at Northlands Expo Centre in Alberta. The main card will air on NBC Sports Network following prelims on MMAjunkie.
Shields was cut loose by the UFC after a unanimous decision loss to Hector Lombard at UFC 171 in March. That loss snapped a four-fight unbeaten streak for the former Strikeforce and EliteXC champion, though he was 3-0 in that stretch after a victory against Ed Herman was flipped to a no-contest following a positive drug test.
Before the loss to Lombard, Shields had split-decision wins over Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley, though both were derided by critics for their grinding style. Overall, Shields went 4-3 with the one no-contest during his UFC run, including a decision loss to then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129. That setback snapped a streak of more than six years without a loss.
Shields was scheduled to make his WSOF debut against fellow UFC castoff Jon Fitch earlier this summer, but an injury forced him out of that fight, which was scheduled as the WSOF 11 co-main event.
Ford will get what has to be considered his biggest challenge yet. The Edmonton native will be fighting in front of his home fans on a six-fight winning streak, including a 2-0 run in Bellator and a 53-second knockout win over Joel Powell in February at WSOF Canada, his promotional debut. That bout earned him WSOF’s Canadian welterweight title.
Ford, who trains at Montreal’s famed Tristar Gym, has 20 of his 22 wins by stoppage with a dozen knockouts and eight submissions. When he steps in the cage against Shields in October, it will have been more than three years since his last loss. Three of his four setbacks have come to elite-level competition with a pair of losses to UFC lightweight Pat Healy and one to Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.
