Gracie: Shields and Thompson to Fight For EliteXC Title

Fighters.com’s eighth- and ninth-ranked welterweights,  Jake Shields (20-4-1) and “The Goat” Nick Thompson (36-9-1) respectively, will challenge for the first EliteXC Welterweight Championship 26 July on CBS, according to Cesar Gracie (0-1), Shields’s manager and trainer.

Shields responded to Fighters.com’s request for confirmation Tuesday, “I signed and I think [Thompson] did as well.”

Thompson also responded to Fighters.com Tuesday, saying “I can neither confirm nor deny the report at this time.”

Gracie also announced at his website that his student Nick Diaz (17-7) will fight “Wildman” Thomas Denny (26-16) on the same card.

Shields was originally signed to fight Drew Fickett (34-5) for the first EliteXC welterweight title.

Fickett bailed on the fight with an injury, then fumbled his opportunity by fighting “Steuss Killer” Jeff Horlacher (5-12) unbeknownst to EliteXC.

Shields choked out “Quicksand” Mike Pyle (16-5-1) last November in Corpus Christi, south of Houston.

Thompson finished “Maicon” Michael Cost (9-4) with a Kimura in Saitama, north of Tokyo, earlier this month.

Diaz finished Muhsin Corbbrey (8-3) with punches in the third round this month in Honolulu.

Denny beat Malaipet MTA (3-2) in Santa Ynez, north of Los Angeles, when Malaipet was DQ’d for striking Denny with a downward elbow strike.