Ex-UFC fighter Jake Shields draws eye-opening parallel between LA wildfires and $50 million U.S. spending in Israel

Former UFC welterweight Jake Shields is at it again, taking to X/Twitter, where he has penned a politically charged post criticizing the Californian government, and the United States federal government at large, of the mismanagement of funds that should have otherwise been used to help fight the Palisades Fire.

In particular, shields accused the American government of transferring a large sum of tax payer money to Israel, a longtime geopolitical ally of the United States in the Middle East. Shields took issue over California cutting $17 million from its fire department's budget to allegedly assist Israel.

"Los Angeles sent $50 million to Israel while cutting $17 million from their fire department"

Shields is well-known in social media circles for his negative opinions on Israel. In fact, his anti-Israel rhetoric has led to accusations of antisemitism, even once criticizing Joe Rogan for speaking ill of antisemitism, and sparking a feud with world-renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, who is Jewish.

Regardless of the controversy he generates, Shields has never been shy about making inflammatory statements and continues to do so long after his career as an MMA fighter reached its expiration date. At one point, he was a fairly successful fighter, who even reigned as the Strikeforce middleweight champion.

He also trained at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu alongside Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz in California. Despite his initial stellar run in the sport, he eventually hit a roadblock when he was signed to the UFC and given a title shot against arguably the greatest fighter of all time, Georges St-Pierre.

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Jake Shields and Georges St-Pierre had a widely panned title fight

Jake Shields signed with the UFC off the back of a 14-fight win streak. Upon his promotional debut, he extended his run to 15 consecutive fights by beating Martin Kapmann via split decision in a competitive outing. For this, he earned a crack at Georges St-Pierre's then-UFC welterweight title.

The pair locked horns at UFC 129 and it was an uneventful affair. St-Pierre was not a prolific finisher, and Shields even less so. Ultimately, though, the Canadian great won via unanimous decision. However, his showing was criticized for lacking action as he spent most of the fight outstriking Shields from a safe range.