How long until Jake Shields signs with the UFC?

The photo says it all. Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields getting chummy with UFC president Dana White at Saturday’s WEC 48.

Shields is still under contract with Strikeforce until June, but don’t expect him to re-sign with the promotion. White has made it very clear he wants the natural 170-pounder in the UFC ASAP. White’s most-popular fighter, welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, has also made it very clear that he thinks Shields is the best 170-pound fighter in the world (himself excluded) and wants to fight him next.

Of course, nothing’s done until it’s done. Numbers need to be agreed upon, papers need to be signed, cheques need to be cut. Sure, White could just be playing this up so that Strikeforce is forced to write a big fat cheque to keep Shields in the fold. But after his failed promises to land Fedor Emelianenko, I don’t think he can afford to lose face a second time. His ego won’t allow it.

Signing Shields means more than just “Screw you, Strikeforce.” If Shields comes in and loses to GSP it won’t really tarnish his reputation at all. Many UFC fans have no idea who he is anyway and besides, White will get to make fun of Strikeforce for producing a middleweight champ incapable of beating the UFC’s welterweight champ. If he beats GSP right out of the gate it shakes up the welterweight division and sets the stage for a hugely lucrative rematch. If he comes in and loses to someone other than GSP, then White gets to rub in the fact that Strikeforce’s best middleweight fighter couldn’t even beat one of the UFC’s welterweight contenders. All these scenarios provide plenty for White to puff himself up and jaw about.

Meanwhile, Strikeforce will be left to pick up the pieces of its crumbling middleweight division.