Efrain Escudero Signs with SHINE... Is This Really a Smart Move?

According to whom you ask, former ufc star and winner of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” Efrain Escudero either got exactly what he deserved or a unique form of cruel and unusual punishment when he was released from the UFC less than two months ago after coming in overweight and losing to surging upstart Charles Oliveira. Dana White was quoted as saying that Escudero was released because he “got comfortable” and hadn’t “gone after it” in his last several fights, while the man himself said that his abrupt firing simply doesn’t make sense. But the past is now officially the past: “Hecho in Mexico” has a new home, and I’m almost positive that it’s not the promotion anyone expected him to sign with.

Despite early rumors tying Efrain to both Strikeforce and Bellator FC, MMA Weekly reports that Escudero has chosen to call the controversial Shine Fights promotion his home. Shine Fights was most recently embroiled in several different controversies leading up to their third official show, from fighters complaining about not being paid and even threatening legal action, to the venue of the event having to be changed on extremely short notice. In spite of all this, Shine Fights 3 ended up being a very solid show, to the point where I even called it one of my “sleeper hits” of the year.

Escudero had this to say regarding his new-found home: “Going to Shine is the first step to becoming a world champion. As far as my career goes, things happen, and I don’t live in the past… Shine, here I come!” Shine Fights COO Jason Chambers echoed Escudero’s sentiments when he said the following: “I have tremendous confidence in [Efrain’s] abilities, and look forward to seeing him make waves in our growing lightweight division.”

Now, pardon me for stating the obvious, but I think Escudero would have been better off signing with Strikeforce or Bellator. Shine Fights 3 repaired some of the damage and healed a few of the wounds, but for the most part Shine Fights remains a very controversial and seemingly a very unstable promotion to sign with. I don’t have a single doubt in my mind that Strikeforce will still exist once 2011 is through, and I think something would have to go horribly, horribly wrong for Bellator FC to fold in the next calendar year. But Shine Fights? I honestly have no idea if they’ll still be around by the time the Mayans say we’re all going to die.

I hate to come off so cynical of Shine Fights, but I just don’t think this was a smart move on Efrain’s part. I liked Shine Fights 3 so much that Shine got a decent amount of respect out of me for their willingness to not go down without a fight, despite all the negativity I gave them over their various controversies. I even believed that if Shine Fights 3 ended up being their last event, they should have at least been praised for going out with a battle cry and not a whimper. But make no mistake: going down is where they’re heading, and going out in 2011 is very, very possible.

Of course I could be proven wrong, but I don’t think I’m shouting crazy theories here. Shine Fights has a lot of issues that need to be worked out before they can be called a successful promotion, and in the world of high-stakes MMA, issues have a way of piling up on you so quickly and so often that ultimately you find yourself smothered. While I’ll be the first to eat my next serving of humble pie if Efrain and Shine both pull through and make 2011 a year of unparalleled success, in the here and now I really do think that Efrain should have made the safe bet and signed with Strikeforce or Bellator.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think the future holds for “Hecho in Mexico” and the promotion he’s signed with?