Report: Shields to defend title vs. Daley on Oct. 4

EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields has verbally agreed to defend his title vs. Paul Daley during the promotion’s next CBS event on Oct. 4. Daley has accepted the fight and both fighters are expected to sign formal bout agreements in the coming days, according to a report by MMAWeekly.com.

“Jake Shields and Paul Daley have a date on Oct. 4,” MMA Weekly quotes EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw as saying. “Both fighters have verbally agreed. Bout agreements are out and we’re just waiting for them to come back in.”

Shields won the then-vacant title following a first round submission over Nick Thompson during “Saturday Night Fights II” on July 26. He has won his last ten fights and has finished his last five opponents in the first round.

Following a brief retirement, Daley returned to competitive fighting on July 12 for the Cage Warriors promotion. In that fight he knocked out Bojan Kosednar at 4:53 of round 1. Daley had been slated to fight Lyman Good during EliteXC’s ill-fated “Showdown” card on Sept. 20 but now finds himself in a position to add another title to his collection that includes championships for Cage Rage and FX3.

The third installment of CBS’ “Saturday Night Fights” is scheduled to emanate from the Bank Atlantic Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and will featured Kimbo Slice vs. a yet-to-be named opponent and a female fight between Gina Carano and Kelly Kobald-Gavin.