Fickett vs Shields Postponed Again

by Robert Sargent

Originally scheduled to take place on March 29th, the EliteXC Welterweight Championship fight between Jake Shields and Drew Fickett will no longer take place on June 14th, after Fickett aggravated a knee injury and had to withdraw.

Fickett originally injured the knee in preparation for the March 29th bout with Shields, then re-aggravated it that night when he faced late replacement Jae Suk Lim.

"There is a tear in the meniscus, a lot of fluid build-up," said Bryan Hamper, Fickett's manager. "They did an MRI, and there are tears. It's not to the point where he has to have surgery. You don't really need to [have surgery], just for [the] discomfort and pain that comes with [the injury]."

The knee injury has prevented Fickett from training properly for the fight with Shields, who recently stated that a postponement of the June 14th bout would benefit him in his own recovery from his back injury.

Fickett has elected not to have surgery at this time, and the bout is now tentatively scheduled for July 1st.