Jake Shields is 'definitely coming to the UFC' says White

ESPN staff

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Dana White has confirmed Jake Shields is coming to the UFC © UFC

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Dana White has confirmed current Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields is "definitely coming to the UFC".

Shields beat former UFC star Dan Henderson on April 17 in a shock defence of his middleweight title. Henderson, who is much the bigger man, had been expected to defeat Shields but the Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt recovered from a first round battering to extend his winning run to 14 fights.

The result leaves Strikeforce in turmoil after their big draw card, Henderson, lost his debut fight to a man who is naturally a welterweight, and UFC president White insists it is time for Shields to come to a company who treats him properly.

"Jake Shields is definitely going to leave Strikeforce, and he's definitely coming to the UFC," White was quoted as saying by allheadlinenews.com.

"They never respected Jake Shields, who is their champion. They didn't even have him in their commercials for the fight. Then the fight happens and Jake Shields wins. They were like, 'Oh my God. Shields won. What do we do?' I think they sent [Jason Miller] in there to challenge him, so that if Jake leaves, it looks like he doesn't want to fight Miller.

"That's not the way you do it. You let the winner speak, then you ask him at the end about whether he's willing to fight Miller."

Should Shields arrive in the UFC, he could potentially set up a rematch with England's Paul Daley, whom Shields submitted via armbar in 2008. Log on to ESPN.co.uk on Friday to hear Daley's views on a rematch.