Jake Shields Interview

Full Interview

Jake Shields is set to take on Jason "Mayhem" Miller at "Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers" on November 7 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.  The fight will mark his second trip up to the middleweight division and will be for the now vacant Strikeforce middlweight title.  MMA Recap's Brent Todd sat down with Shields to discuss how he got into the sport, his thoughts on his opponent, and his own style of fighting called American Jiu Jitsu.

What got you into mma?
I had been watching the sport since UFC 1. I remember watching it with my dad. I wrestled through high school and then one day I met Chuck Liddell when he was here in San Francisco for a fight and I went to his gym. It was only a couple weeks later when I started fighting as I had fallen in love with the sport.

What was a factor of picking wrestling in high school?
My older brothers wrestled and I just wanted to do what they were doing.

At what point did you decide that this was going to be your career?
About five years ago I realized that if I dedicated myself full time I could turn this into a career. This is my job and I love it. I would rather be doing this than something else.

Is 185 a permanent move for you?
No I don't think so. I like fighting at 170. But I wanted to test myself up here and see how I do. Ultimately 170 is my best weight, but for bigger fights I don't mind moving up.

Why the move to 185? Is it because your friend and training partner Nick Diaz is scheduled to fight for the welterweight belt?
Obviously I don't want to fight Nick. More I moved up because there wasn't anyone really to fight at 170 where as at 185 there is more competition

How do you think you match up with him (Miller) style wise?
It's going to be a great fight. We match up well. We both can fight off our backs, can stand and bang. Ultimately though I think I will show that I am the better fighter.

Any issues stemming from your time on Bully Beatdown?
No this is just business. I went on there and did my thing. Obviously right now I am not friends with him. I just want to go out there and beat his ass. Afterwards we will be friends, but for now, I can't think of him that way.

There's a lot of beef between you and Frank Shamrock, how'd that start?
The guy has just always disrespected me. He thinks he is better than me and got into it with Nick. In an interview he said that I would be a waste of his time, but now I think it's kind of reversed as I don't think he will ever catch up to fight me.

Can you elaborate on what exactly American Jiu Jitsu is?
It's my style, I call it American Jiu Jitsu. I never trained in a gi, never came up in a gi. I have trained with a lot of top jiu jitsu guys for years. So I mix a lot of brazilian jiu jitsu with American wrestling. Wrestlers come into the game and never really learn jiu jitsu, and jiu jitsu guys come in and never really learn wrestling. I like to think of it as a mix of both. Its more of an aggressive style of jiu jitsu.

Make sure to read the entire article including his thoughts on fans participation, training, his favorite fight and more.