Jake Shields has a new date for his WSOF debut. | Keith Mills/Sherdog.com
Former UFC title contender Jake Shields will venture into hostile territory to make his World Series of Fighting debut against Canadian Ryan Ford.
Shields was forced to withdraw from a planned July 5 encounter with Jon Fitch after suffering an injury in training. A winner in two of his last three outings, the 35-year-old American jiu-jitsu practitioner was unexpectedly released by the UFC after a March decision loss to Hector Lombard.
Ford, 32, also pulled out of his most recent assignment, a match with Bristol Marunde which would have served as the main event of WSOF Canada 2. “The Real Deal” has won six in a row, including his February promotional debut, a 53-second knockout of Joel Powell.