Shields in photo by Esther Lin
Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now in the organization, Shields is set to face Martin Kampmann on his debut, at UFC 121 in October. In his new home, the Cesar Gracie student is dropping a weight class to battle as a welterweight. There may be another motive behind the move, but, when recently queried by GRACIEMAG.com, Jake admitted he would rather face Georges St.-Pierre, the current welterweight champion of the promotion, than face middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.
“I believe I’d choose St.-Pierre, since he’s my natural weight. Either way it’ll be a tough fight. GSP is a complete fighter both standing and on the ground. But that’s why I want to fight him, that’s the challenge. I want to test my skills and see what happens,” he told correspondent Nalty Jr.
Coming off a win over Dan Henderson at Strikeforce, Shields believes his capacity to outdo himself could be an extra ingredient in his winning.
“The most important thing is to have determination and desire to win. Fighters should get in the ring to do whatever it takes to win. Often the guy isn’t all that good, but he simply refuses to lose,” he says in GRACIEMAG.