Jake Shields has fought, and defeated, some of the best MMA fighters in the world. He holds victories over the likes of Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, Hayato Sakurai and Jeremy Jackson. It’s a wonder his name doesn’t come up more often when discussing the top Welterweights. That’s all starting to change, though.

Since winning his Elite XC debut against Ido Pariente in June (Shields is in the midst of an impressive eight-fight winning streak), Shields has become a mainstay on everyone’s top 10 Welterweight list. Ho-hum, Shields is not content. He is itching to fight the absolute best and wonders if that can truly happen in Elite XC.

Just a few weeks ago, Shields said he was looking forward to testing his skills against the best the UFC has to offer. I don’t blame him. Clearly, the top Welterweights are fighting in the UFC. Naturally, though, Gary Shaw and the folks at Pro Elite weren’t that pleased with Shields’ comments. And while everyone seemed to have been on the same page during last week’s press conference, one has to wonder if this Saturday’s fight against Mike Pyle will be Shields’ last for Elite (his contract expires after this fight).

I asked Shields about his upcoming bout against Pyle, his future in Elite and his place in the Welterweight division. He definitely had some interesting things to say about the his 170 lbs contemporaries, Kimbo Slice’s budding MMA career and when we could find out about his MMA future (might be sooner than we think).

Jake Shields – 11/05/07