UFC 129: St-Pierre and Shields Speak on Training Ahead of Title Fight

April 30th, the date Georges St-Pierre will defend his Welterweight Championship against Jake Shields, is fast approaching. At the recent broadcast, UFC Fight Night: Seattle, Joe Rogan spoke with both competitors via satellite from their training camps.

St-Pierre stated that his training camp was going well, and was working on "a lot of different stuff." He also said that he is going back to his roots, karate, which is interesting, to say the least because of the style of fight St. Pierre has brought to opponents in the last year or two.

It will be interesting to see how St-Pierre comes out against Shields, who is a decorated mixed martial artist currently riding a fifteen fight win streak. A former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, and the first and last fighter to hold the Elite XC Welterweight title, Shields is a dangerous fighter who has a ground game that has seen him both score TKO and submission victories.

Shields said that his camp was going very well, and had a few visitors come into camp and help him prepare. He had Ultimate Fighter winner, Court McGee, and former Middleweight number one contender, Chael Sonnen, come along for training.

Chael Sonnen is an interesting mix because of how good of a wrestler he is. St-Pierre has proven that he can wrestle with the best of them, so neutralizing him in that regard is something Shields is definitely going to be looking to do.

Shields knows the pressure he is under, and how much different this title fight is compared to his other accomplishments. He said that he is proud of the fact that he has multiple titles in different shows, but knows this is the big one and the one goal he had throughout his fighting career.

It is going to be an interesting fight for sure. Shields is definitely worthy of this title opportunity, and whether you like him or you don't, he is a fighter through and through and has proved such. St. Pierre has his work cut out for him, and if he is not careful, he runs the risk of getting pounded or submitted by the challenger.