The World Series of Fighting’s 14th event is scheduled for October 11th in Edmonton, Canada and carries a ‘USA vs Canada’ theme. The main event features former UFC contender Jake Shields taking on Ryan Ford in a bout that is Shields’ debut for the WSOF. look for Shields to be favored when the line goes up at the books.
Shields is now 35 years old, and after his UFC contract was ended so unceremoniously, he is going to have to come up with a strong performance just to remind people that he is still there. Unfortunately for Shields, he went 4-3 in the UFC, with a a win overturned to a NC because of a failed medical exam, and he produced no truly memorable moments. For all his skill, he went to a lot of decisions in his wins and produced no real near-finishes. He will best be remembered for eating a knee from Jake Ellenberger in the first minute of their fight that thankfully ended what would have likely been another 15 minutes of Shields.
The task of saving the world from another Jake Shields bore-fest falls to Ryan Ford, and it is questionable whether he can do it. He owns a solid 22-4 overall record in MMA and is riding a six fight winning streak. Three of his losses are to Pat Healy (2x) and Douglas Lima, neither of whom are slouches. He has tended to win against many of the midwest’s fading veterans, as he owns wins over CJ Fernandez, Pete Spratt, Laverne Clark and Karo Parisyan. Overall his level of competition has been much lower than Shields, and Shields would represent a very big win for Ford.
An interesting prospect at Light Heavyweight appears on the card, and that is Misha Cirkunov (7-2). Cirkunov faces Teddy Holder (8-1) who has been impressive on the ‘B’ circuit, but Cirkonov is a very solid athlete who could have similar potential to the UFC’s Patrick Cummins if he can put it all together.
The Heavyweights feature Derrick Mehmen (18-5 overall in MMA) taking on (8-1) Smealinho Rama. Rama is 1-0 in the WSOF and beat UFC veteran Tim Hague in his most recent outing for Unified MMA promotions, while Mehmen owns a notable win over Rolles Gracie and is a perfect 3-0 in the WSOF.
