MMA - UFC - Bellator

As more and more fighters seem to be dropping down in weight, one fighter is heading in the opposite direction and moving up in weight class. Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (27-5-1) has decided to leave the welterweight division once again for the 185-pound division.

Shields’ intentions to move back up to the middleweight division after fighting four times inside the Octagon at welterweight were made known during Tuesday’s new edition of “UFC Tonight.”

Throughout his career, Shields has fought in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions where he won championships in both weight classes. Aside from once being a Strikeforce welterweight champion, Shields is also the former welterweight champion for both the EliteXC and Rumble on the Rock promotions.

Shields went just 2-2 as a welterweight in the UFC, but never looked comfortable or himself at 170 pounds. He did have a shot at UFC gold but lost a unanimous decision loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129. Most rebounded from back to back losses for the first time in his career at UFC 144 by defeating Yoshihiro Akiyama by unanimous decision.

No word on possible opponents were mentioned but there are a long list of willing fighters in the middleweight division as options for the return of Jake Shields to the middleweight division.