Last weekend it was Rory MacDonald who stole the proverbial welterweight spotlight with his knockout victory over Tarec Saffiedine. Now his Tristar teammate Ryan Ford looks to do the same this Saturday, in arguably the biggest 170-pound fight outside the UFC this year. Ford battles former UFC title challenger Jake Shields in his hometown of Edmonton at World Series of Fighting 14.
“It’s awesome; I’m so excited about this fight,” an ecstatic Ford told Sportsnet. “I respect Jake a lot, dude’s tough. He’s beat the who’s who in MMA. I’m looking to showcase my skills and let everybody know what Ryan Ford can do.”
An eight-year veteran of the sport, Ford (22-4) has collected multiple titles throughout the Canadian circuit, but none more impressive than his last bout where he earned the WSOF Canada welterweight championship. Just 53 seconds into the first round, Ford knocked out Hamilton native Joel Powell with a highlight reel front-kick at WSOF Canada 1. The win was Ford’s sixth in a row and it was evident the 31-year-old wanted a big step up in competition in his next outing.
“After my last fight [I wanted] a Top 10 guy,” Ford explained. “Once I saw that Jake Shields signed with WSOF [and] all the other [welterweight fighters were booked], I was like ‘hey, I’m going to start Twittering Jake Shields and WSOF and let’s make this fight happen.’”
At the time, those ambitions were easier said than done. It’s the same old story that’s plagued Ford’s entire 26-fight career. The Edmonton native currently can’t fight in the United States as his legal issues–stemming from an incident in his early twenties which had him behind bars for four years–hindered his ability to travel outside of Canada.
Initially it appeared that Ford would battle TUF 16 competitor Bristol Marunde at WSOF Canada’s sophomore event in June. Shields meanwhile, was booked his WSOF debut against fellow UFC veteran Jon Fitch at WSOF 11 in July. But as luck would have it, injuries forced both Ford and Shields off their respective bouts and now Canadians are treated to a world class matchup in Edmonton on Oct. 11.
“One hundred percent I believe that it is the biggest fight outside the UFC in Canada,” Ford said. “It will be the biggest fight ever in my hometown of Alberta. Ticket sales have been going crazy. We’re sold out of all the cageside seats. This is a big thing for Edmonton and for Canada.”
Shields (22-7-1 NC) is competing for the first time since his UFC release this past April. In somewhat of a surprising move, the Las Vegas-based promotion decided to part ways with the Cesar Gracie fighter, despite him winning three of his last five fights. His most recent outing was a lopsided loss to former Bellator champion Hector Lombard at UFC 171, in which many pundits questioned if the 35-year-old’s best days were behind him. Ford isn’t one of those critics.
“Lombard is a beast. Everybody can talk that Shields isn’t as good as he used to be, but to me, I’m going [with the mindset] to fight the best Jake Shields there is. There isn’t one day where I’m taking this fight lightly.”
Like he has numerous times before, Ford split time for this training camp between his home in Edmonton and Tristar Gym in Montreal. One advantage for Ford heading into this fight is his team already game planned for Shields back in 2011. Teammate and former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defeated Shields in Toronto at UFC 129. Ford will take any edge he can get, as Shields boasts an impressive resume that includes wins over Tyron Woodley, Dan Henderson and Carlos Condit. Ford knows what’s at stake and that opportunities like this don’t come around often.
“This is the biggest fight of my career; I’m so hungry for this fight that when I get in there, it’s going to be fun. I’m going to prove to the world that I’m in the Top 10 of fighters at 170 pounds. After [WSOF] sees what happens on Oct. 11 and how many tickets are sold, they will want to be back in Canada for sure.”
The state is set ahead of Saturday’s battle for Ford to make a statement and put the rest of the welterweight division on notice. A win over a former Strikeforce champion like Shields would not only make a strong case for fighting the winner of Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch–for the WSOF welterweight championship in December–but also catch the eye of the UFC.
“Everybody says all the best fighters are in the UFC, to me that’s not true because I’m not there. I believe I can compete with all those guys. I’m very happy fighting for WSOF. They gave me the opportunity with this big fight coming up to showcase myself on a world stage, against a world class competitor. I believe if I beat Jake Shields I should be the Top 10 in the world.”
Here’s a look at the full WSOF 14 event:
MAIN CARD
— Ryan Ford (22-4) vs. Jake Shields (29-7)
— Smealinho Rama (8-1) vs. Derek Mehman (18-5) World Heavyweight Title Fight
— Chris Horodecki (20-5-1) vs. Luis Huete (6-1)
— Luke Harris (10-2) vs. Jared Hamman (13-6)
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Tim Hague (18-9) vs. Craig Hudson (4-4)
— Michael Hill (7-2) vs. Marcus Hicks (19-23)
— Hakeem Dawodu (2-0) vs. Mike Malott (4-0)
— Cody Krahn (15-9) vs. Matt Baker (10-7)
— Roger Alves (2-1) vs. David Swanson (2-0)
