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Ex-UFC Star Rebukes Michael Phelps for ‘Taking Money’ and Pushing Mental Health to Promote Pfizer Vaccine

Afnan Chougle
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Michael Phelps the multiple times Olympic gold medalist has seen a lot of controversies in his career. However, it seems like things haven’t changed for the American Olympic singer.

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Recently, Phelps found himself in yet another controversy after he advertised a Covid vaccine produced by a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Pfizer. The American has received a lot of criticism on social media. Even a former UFC welterweight title challenger Jake Shields has chastised Phelps.

What did Jake Shields say about Michael Phelps?

The Olympic swimmer recently took to his official Instagram account to announce his association with Pfizer. He also pushed the mental health factor to advertise the vaccine.

“I’ve been working on something that I can finally share with you. It wasn’t until recently that I learned my struggle with depression puts me at high risk for severe # COVID-19. Taking care of my health is so important to me – it makes me a better dad, husband, son, and friend. That’s why I’m partnering with @PfizerInc to encourage people to know what risk factors could put them at high risk for getting very sick from COVID-19,” Phelps wrote in the caption.

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However, Phelps’ post didn’t settle well with the former UFC welterweight fighter who is against the vaccine. Shields since the beginning has been an anti-vaxxer and has talked about it several times on his social media.

The ex-UFC star post a screenshot of Phelps’s Instagram post and wrote, “Michael Phelps is taking money from Pfizer to push the vaccine,” in the caption. However, Shields was not the only one criticizing the Olympic gold medalist many fans also chastised him for advertising the vaccine. Hence, Phelps turned off the comments of his post.

Jake Shields in the UFC

Shields is a veteran of the sport. He has competed in Strikeforce and UFC. Not only that, the American MMA fighter was a champion in Strikeforce. Shields has a 31-9 professional MMA record under his name.

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He has competed against some renowned Robbie Lawler, Georges St-Pierre, and more. However, Shields departed from the UFC in 2014 and later took the role of a grappling coach. He has worked with the likes of UFC legends Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz.

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However, Shields is also famous for his fearless attitude on social media. The former Strikeforce never shies upon sharing his thoughts on a topic even if it is highly controversial. Thus, he has garnered a cult following on his Twitter account.

What are your thoughts on Jake Shields’ career? What do you guys think about his tweet on Michael Phelps?

About the author

Afnan Chougle

Afnan Chougle

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Afnan Chougle is a UFC author and content manager at The SportsRush. Afnan has written over 900 articles about combat sports before joining The SportsRush. He has now worked in the industry for over two years. He uses his expertise and enthusiasm to advance his professional career and offers insightful commentary on anything related to combat sports. Since UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov fan Afnan has faithfully followed MMA. Besides "The Eagle," Muhammad Ali is his favorite athlete. Apart from his professional exploits as a UFC journalist, Afnan enjoys honing his skills as an amateur actor/boxer and loves going on occasional treks.

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