Fickett-Shields Title Fight Postponed Again

A knee injury has forced Drew Fickett (Pictures) out of his scheduled June 14 title fight in Hawaii against EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields (Pictures).

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw announced the bout's cancellation Thursday on MMAWeekly Radio.

Fickett's manager, Bryan Hamper, told Sherdog.com that Fickett originally hurt his knee in March while preparing for a March 29 bout against Shields. The matchup was postponed to June after Shields had injured his back.

However, Fickett fought replacement Jae Suk Lim (Pictures) on the March 29 card, and the knee injury "flared up" again during his victory. Following the win, Fickett took two weeks off to rest his knee before consulting a doctor.

"There is a tear in the meniscus, a lot of fluid buildup," Hamper said. "They did a MRI, and there are tears. It's not to the point where he has to have surgery. You don't really need to, just for discomfort and pain that comes with it."

The manager said Fickett's knee hasn't allowed him to train properly for a five-round fight with Shields, who also suggested recently in an interview with MMAWeekly.com that a July date for the fight might allow a better recovery from his own injury.

At this point, Fickett has elected not to have surgery and has just started to begin training again. He plans to be in fighting shape by July 1 and would like to remain active, but he still views the title fight with Shields as the matchup he wants.