UFC 115 News: A Possible Firing, Shields Backstage, Attendance

– Current Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields, who has fulfilled his contractual obligations with Strikeforce, was at UFC 115 last night, says UFC president Dana White. Shields' exclusive contract negotiation period with Strikeforce ended recently, and he can now talk with other promotions. Strikeforce still has the option to match any contract offer. "[Shields] was here," White said. "I talked to him. We're in negotiations with him right now." He has been adamant that Shields would sign with the UFC, and remains that way. "We haven't signed [Shields] yet," White said. "Trust me, I'll let you guys know when we sign him ? the second we do."

– Following David Loiseau's UFC 115 loss to Mario Miranda, Dana White was not pulling any punches when discussing the shortcomings of "The Crow." "David's been in this sport a long time, and again tonight he got dominated on the ground," White said. "That's his problem." Miranda used a ground-and-pound assault to earn a second-round TKO victory. But does this mean Loiseau will be released from the UFC for the fourth time? "Who knows?" White said. "I'm sure (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) is probably going to cut him after this fight, and David will probably have to work his way back up again. He's been around the game a long time, like I said, but he keeps getting dominated on the ground."

– UFC 115 drew a reported attendance of 17,000 to GM Place in Vancouver, resulting in a live gate of $4.2 million. That ranks fourth in attendance for trips to Canada by the UFC, and third in gate receipts. The total gate would mean an average of $247.06 per ticket. The number of comp tickets was not available.

Source: MMAJunkie.com