Jake Shields looks to sweep Leo Santos in their Consolation Match. Shields would go on to win the match and the third place title.

Jake Shields is a young fighter out of Cesar Gracie’s academy in Northern California . Shields placed third in the 66-76 kilogram division at the Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships. He is a former Shooto Middleweight World Title Champion and is also a veteran of Pancrase.

In his first round match Shields faced Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez representing Arizona . The match was a fast paced battle due to Sanchez’ aggressive style. Shields was able to outscore Sanchez and earned the decision.

In his next match Shields faced fellow Californian Grappler and Ralph Gracie black belt, Cameron Earle. Earle caught Shields’ elbow early on in the bout and would later describe the fact that he heard the elbow pop twice. Shields somehow found the strength of mind to resist the submission hold and his endurance to pain would soon pay off as he escaped the lock and went on to win the match on points.

Shields then went on to face the American Top Team representative Pablo Popovitch, who had just defeated the legendary Pride veteran Renzo Gracie. Shields was not so fortunate in this match and was defeated by Popovitch. Popvitch would eventually place second in the division after losing to the great champion Marcelo Garcia.

In the Consolation Match to determine the third and forth place winners, Shields took on Leo Santos a Nova Uniao Jiu-Jitsu black belt who submitted UFC welterweight contender Georges St. Pierre in his bracket of the ADCC. Shields would win that match via tapout due to a rear naked choke and walk away with three victories while only suffering one defeat. Santos took the forth place title.

MMA Ring Report: We’re here with Jake Shields who placed third in the 66-76 kilogram division at the Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships. Jake, you had quite a few matches in the tournament, what was your experience like over the weekend?

Jake Shields: I had four matches. The experience, it was mostly good. I ended up getting my arm a little hurt early on in my second match, that gave me a little bit of trouble, but other than that, I felt really good.

MMA Ring Report: And that was against Cameron Earle?

Jake Shields: Yeah, Cameron Earle, he ended up popping my elbow right in the beginning of the match. I ended up going on to win the match, still though. But my elbow is all swollen up now. I’m not really sure what’s wrong with it.

MMA Ring Report: So you’re going to have to train on using only your left hook and jab for a while?

Jake Shields: Yeah, that is the one thing about injuries; it allows you to work on other aspects of your game. I already have a good right punch. So yeah, I’ll work with my left until it heals up.

MMA Ring Report: You also train out of Cesar Gracie’s camp in Concord is that correct?

Jake Shields: Yes, that’s correct.

MMA Ring Report: Can you tell us about some of the training partners you work with, and who else is fighting out of there?

Jake Shields: I have some great training partners. I have David Terrell, Nick Diaz, and I have Gilbert Melendez training with me. I can go on and on. We’ve got at least ten good fighters there. We definitely train hard. We train lots of no gi, boxing, we mix it all up, so our academy--we’re defiantly blowing up right now. We’re going to keep on getting better.

MMA Ring Report: Gilbert Melendez mentioned that you helped him prepare for his match. Can you talk about the specific training you did for this event?

Jake Shields: Well, Gilbert actually only had two days notice, so his training was just hopping in with me. For my training, I was out running a lot of sprints. More sprints than normal, so my conditioning feels a lot better now. I’m definitely going to keep that up. I tried lifting for the first time about a month ago, which really is making a difference and then just lots and lots of jiu-jitsu. I quit kickboxing two weeks ago just to focus on this. So, for the last two weeks, I’ve been doing lots and lots of wrestling and submission too, just lots of live matches.

MMA Ring Report: Jake, you are also a champion in Shooto, can you tell us about some of your wins in Shooto?

Jake Shields: Yeah, I’ve had some really tough fights. I beat Hayato Sakurai, Akira Kikuchi, and Milton Viera. I’ve had a lot of tough fights in Shooto.

MMA Ring Report: What was the title that you won in Shooto?

Jake Shields: The Middleweight World Title, which is at 167.5 pounds. I just lost it; unfortunately, I’m trying to get a rematch right now. I had a close fight with Kikuchi, who I had previously beaten.

MMA Ring Report: Where do you go from here? What’s your next step?

Jake Shields: I really don’t know. Hopefully, I’ll get some big fights. I want to be fighting. Hopefully UFC, Pride, maybe go back to Shooto. I’m just looking to see what’s the right opportunity for me now.

MMA Ring Report: So you’re a free agent as of right now?

Jake Shields: Yeah, I’m a free agent. So I’m looking for any good fights.

MMA Ring Report: So we hope to hear good things from you in the future and again congratulations. Third place not bad…

Jake Shields: Yeah, thank you. I think you’ll definitely see lots of good things from me in the future. I’m now starting to come along. I’ve got a long ways to go still. I’m just going to get better. Thanks a lot.

MMA Ring Report: Thank you Jake. We appreciate it.

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