Elite XC 170 pound champion Jake Shields recently sat down with me to discuss what has been going on with his status with the now defunct promotion, what his future plans are going forward, and what it’s like owning his own gym.

Demand MMA: Jake how have things been going? How is the new gym in Berkeley, CA. doing?

Jake Shields: It’s going really good actually. We are packed everyday. We have expanded actually, we got a new spot that will be opening in a few weeks, we picked up the lease today.

Demand MMA: Nice. Another building? So you are going to have two different gyms?

Jake Shields: Yeah, well it’s actually right in the same place about 50 feet away.

Demand MMA: Are you still going to be affiliated with Cesar Gracie, or are you doing your own thing?

Jake Shields: Nah, I’m still with Cesar, but I have been kind of doing my own thing for awhile now. For about 5 years I have been running my own program. I am still going to be part of Cesar’s team. We are all part of the same team.

Demand MMA: Now that you have your own gym in Berkeley, do you still train with Gilbert Melendez and the rest of the Gracie guys?

Jake Shields: Yeah definitely. Gilbert comes through. Nick and Nate Diaz have been coming through. All kinds of training. Putting the boxing and kick boxing program together, that’s getting started. We are looking at bringing more big name trainers in, also some guys from Brazil. We have all kinds of things planned.

Demand MMA: What’s going on with your contract with Elite XC? I know you went into it a little on Inside MMA, was there anything you didn’t get a chance to say on the show that might be going on?

Jake Shields: I’m just waiting at this point. It has been really hard to get a hold of anyone at EXC. My manager finally talked to one of the lawyers over there. I don’t know what is going exactly. I guess Showtime is trying to auction us off, EXC is countering it. The Internet really knows more then I do. I don’t know what is going on, they won’t talk to us.

Demand MMA: How does that make you feel seeing your contract up for auction on the Internet? It has to make you feel pretty bad, no?

Jake Shields: Well, its just retarded. No one is going to touch them since they are in a breach of contract already. All the fight shows realize they can’t really sell them the way they are trying to. Most of the fighters if not all of them have already filed a breach of contract. I don’t think they can legally sell them.

Demand MMA: I know you can’t talk to any other promotions for a 30 day window, what kinds of plans are you thinking about? UFC, Strikeforce, maybe go to Japan? What would you like to do if you had your choice?

Jake Shields: I am thinking most likely UFC, that’s where most of the fighters in my division are. That’s one choice in my mind. I’m going to talk to some other shows too, hear some other offers before I jump into a contract. Right now my mind is strongly leaning towards the UFC. Hopefully, when my 30 day window is up I can talk to Dana and try to work something out.

Demand MMA: What made you sign with EXC in the first place? Was the UFC not looking at you?

Jake Shields: No, they were, I was talking to them right before I signed with EXC. It’s one of those things that came down to options. EXC was really good to me, they wanted me really bad. They offered me a signing bonus and all that. I felt I would get a little exposure before going into the UFC. Now I feel like I have gotten that exposure and I feel it’s my time to go in there and fight the top guys. Unless someone convinces me with a really good offer that’s what I’m going to do.

Demand MMA: If you do decide to go to the UFC, who would you want to fight? What would be a good fight to introduce you to the fans of the UFC?

Jake Shields: I would love to go fight GSP, but I don’t think that is realistic. There are a lot of good guys to fight. Go in there against Diego, I think that would be a great first match. Thiago Alves, I would like to go in and fight one of their top fighters. Hopefully go in there fight one fight and win that, be the number one contender.

Demand MMA: I know you are familiar with the things Seth Petruzelli said after the last EXC show. Have you ever witnessed a promoter in any organization you have ever fought offering specific bonuses to fight a certain way before the fight?

Jake Shields: I actually have a knockout bonus in my contract too, which I think is kind of lame. EXC does that, I think it is standard in their contracts. I think it is a little shady, but it got blown out of proportion, considering I have a knockout clause in my contract but no submission clause. EXC strongly encourages stand up. They certainly wanted people to stand with Kimbo, I don’t think they directly offered him more money just to stand up, just the knockout bonus which is in a lot of our contracts.

Demand MMA: It’s interesting that other promotions like the UFC offer fight of the night and other bonuses after the fight, but you had it written in your contract with EXC. Did they want you to stand up and knock people out [and not grapple]?

Jake Shields: Not necessarily that they wanted it, but I did get a knockout bonus in my contract, and no submission bonus which I thought was unfair.

Demand MMA: Especially since you are a BJJ Black Belt right?

Jake Shields: EXC is coming from a boxing background. That was back when Gary [Shaw] was the promoter. You know the whole boxing standpoint and not MMA.

Demand MMA: How long have you been a vegetarian? What kinds of things do you eat to get all the protein you need to maintain the training schedule and muscle mass?

Jake Shields: I have been a vegetarian my whole life. Everyone always asks me about protein, I don’t really think about it. I don’t focus on it. I eat a bunch of beans, nuts, tofu, I pretty much eat whenever I want to I don’t have a strict diet.

Demand MMA: Out of all the fights you have had who would you say was your toughest opponent?

Jake Shields: That is a tough call. I have fought a lot of tough guys. Yushin Okami was really tough, Misaki, I have had a tough list of guys so I have had some tough fights.

Demand MMA: What about anyone you have ever fought or trained with tell me who hits the hardest?

Jake Shields: Who hit’s the hardest? Man, well Chuck Liddell hits pretty hard but I think everyone knows that.

Demand MMA: You had mentioned before when you were with EXC that you had wanted to go up to 185lbs to fight Robbie Lawler. With EXC going under is that something you would still consider, or was that more of a promotional thing?

Jake Shields: Nah, that was more just because EXC didn’t have any 170 pounders left for me to fight. I was looking for big fights. I was looking for people to test me and prove myself. I felt that I had already dominated all the 170 pounders they had. If I go into the UFC I will be fighting a couple more fights at 170.

For more information about Jake’s gym go to Graciefighter.com or go to JakeShields.com for any info on Jake or to get your official Jake Shields fight wear. demandmma.com would like to thank Jake Shields for taking the time to grant this interview.