Blog by: Jake Shields

It's good to be getting a little respect in the Bay Area. I've been fighting for years, and with this title fight coming up, I'm finally getting a lot of coverage-- local CBS, FoxSports, local magazines, etc. So that's cool to start building some hype out here.

I've read Nick Thompson's blogs, and as far as his comments, I'm glad he feels this is a great fight too. He respects me, I respect him, so we're both excited about this fight; and I know we are going to bring a great fight to CBS. That said, I feel it's my time. It's my time to shine, and I'm going to take him out.

Training is about a week and a half out and it's going great. I'm feeling good, just tapering off-- finishing my remaining hard training sessions and cleaning up my diet. Right now it's all about making weight, going out there, and kicking ass. I don't have more to say at this point-- I'm just ready to go out there and fight. So I'll let my fighting do the talking on CBS.


Editor's note: Jake Shields and Nick Thompson fight at CBS & EliteXC Saturday Night Fights: Lawler vs Smith II on July 26th. The winner will become EliteXC's first Welterweight Champion.

Blog by: Jake Shields

I'm very excited to fight, and I expected it to be hard. This is probably the biggest fight of my career; fighting on CBS is huge. I've been fighting for about 8 years and this is going to be by far the biggest US exposure. I've been training hard for this.

It's great to be fighting for the EliteXC title. I'm 3-0 in EliteXC now and have finished all of my opponents in the first round, so I think it is a title that's well deserved for me; and it's something I want to take.

Nick Thompson is certainly not an easy fight-- I didn't ask for an easy fight. When I heard Nick Thompson's name mentioned and I actually said that who I WANT to fight-- I had heard him call me out in a couple of interviews.

That said, I think he's a great opponent. He's on, I think, a 12-fight win streak. I'm not sure how long it's been since he's lost. Also, he's the former BoDog Champ. He's a great opponent who's exited to fight me, and I'm excited to fight him. I think our styles match up really well, in that we're both very well-rounded. It should be a very technical fight.

I'm certainly prepared for this. I'm as prepared as I've ever been for a fight. When I was hurt with my back injury, that really bummed me out. It had me depressed for a minute, but it made me appreciate how much I really love fighting and how hungry I am to fight.

It's a short training cycle for this fight, and I'm sure Nick Thompson is facing the same problem that that creates. But in a short amount of time I will be peaking. Right now, I'm already doing five 5-minute rounds. In two weeks, I'll definitely be ready to go. I plan on going out there and fighting my hardest.

I will go out there and hopefully put Nick away in the first or second round, but I know he's going to be ready for a war. Expect a great fight.

Editor's note: Jake Shields and Nick Thompson fight at CBS & EliteXC Saturday Night Fights: Lawler vs Smith II on July 26th. The winner will become EliteXC's first Welterweight Champion.