The UFC homepage had this image up yesterday! How cool is that? Vegan and vegetarian men are kicking serious ass, and on April 30th, Jake Shields will be fighting for the welterweight championship! Who is hosting a party in NYC to watch?
Top-Ranked Welterweight, Jon Fitch, Shares His Daily Grub
Jon Fitch was recently ranked the #2 welterweight MMA fighter. He gets a lot of questions about what he eats to stay so lean, strong, and healthy – so he made the video below to share his nutrition tips with you. Why don’t you tweet Jon @FitchFighter and let him know what your favorite, vegan power-packed snack is.
Thanks to contributor, Pierre Grzybowski, for the tip.
Three of Top-Ten Welterweights are Veg
Of the top ten ranked Mixed Martial Arts welterweights, there is a vegetarian, a near vegan, and someone who is trying out veganism. Number nine ranked Nick Diaz recently stated on recent conference call: “I try to eat a raw, vegan diet… I’ve been doing that since I was 16, 17 years old so I’m pretty used to it. It helps me not feel like shit when I’m training all day long.” (source*)
In the next couple of months, a vegan or near vegan will be headlining a night of fights for Strikeforce, and a lifelong vegetarian (Jake) will be headlining a night of fights for UFC.
From the Sherdog website:
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#2. Jon Fitch (23-3, 1 NC)
After besting Thiago Alves for a second time, Fitch was hopeful he would get another crack at the UFC welterweight crown. That opportunity will be going to Jake Shields. Instead of another title shot, Fitch draws former two-division champion B.J. Penn at UFC 127 on Feb. 27 in Sydney, Australia.
#4. Jake Shields (26-4-1)
In light of Georges St. Pierre’s domination of Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, Shields now knows exactly what daunting task lay in front of him in his effort to win the UFC welterweight title. The major questions are simply when the fight will take place and whether it will land at UFC 129 in Toronto come April 30.
#9. Nick Diaz (23-7, 1 ND)
Strikeforce remains hopeful that Diaz will be in action at its Jan. 29 event in San Jose, Calif. In the meantime, the public war of words between Diaz and rival Jason Miller continues to rage, as the two try to negotiate a potential catchweight bout via the media.
Thanks to contributor Pierre Grzybowski & Jon Camp for the tip.
Animal Advocate Jake Shields Signs with Ultimate Fighting Championship
By Pierre Grzybowski
In his November 2008 interview with the Discerning Brute, life-long vegetarian and professional fighter Jake Shields was asked to complete the sentence: “In a perfect world…”
His answer: “…I’ll be the UFC Champion next year.”
Well, he’s a little behind schedule, but it looks like he will finally get his chance. Sherdog.com is reporting that Jake Shields has signed to fight in the UFC welterweight division, where he will make his debut October 23 at UFC 121. Ultimately, Shields will face reigning champ Georges St-Pierre to decide the best 170-pounder in the world.
While waiting for his October 23 UFC debut, read up on everything Shields has done for animals while not busy winning 14 consecutive fights over the last 5 years.
Pierre Grzybowski is the manager of the fur-free campaign for The Humane Society of the United States. He holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Jake Shield’s Veggie Vehemence Wins Title
I’d like to put anyone who thinks vegans and vegetarians are wimps in a ring with Jake Shields. Almost 3 million people watched on as Shields, a life-long vegetarian and animals rights advocate, claimed victory over a two-time Olympian and former two-division Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Dan Henderson. Shields retained his Strikeforce World Middleweight title, and is now considered a top contender for a title shot with UFC, largely due to his 14-fight winning streak, and this career-defining fight in Nashville last night.
Jake continually dispels the myth that you can’t be a strong and athletic on a vegetarian diet. He has never eaten meat in his entire life! Shields has spoken out on factory farming, dog fighting, fur, and about being a life-long vegetarian: Knock Out Animal Fighting, Prop 2, Vegetarian and Strikeforce Champion Jake Shields
For more, check out the interview I did with Jake last year: Lean & Green: Jake Shields.
Special thanks to Pierre for the tip!
Lean & Green: Jake Shields
He’s anything but beefy. Jake Shields is the clean cut, handsome, Mixed Martial Arts champ that has more buzz floating around him than a beehive. Raised in the mountains of northern California, home-schooled, and brought up vegetarian since birth, Jake is rocking both the MMA world and the vegetarian community. He is the Elite XC Welterweight Champion, and he holds one of only three Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belts ever earned. Jake voted Yes on Prop 2 in California, and he’s just opened his own gym in Berkley, where he teaches jiu jitsu and plans on taking his career all the way to the top. Like Mac Danzig and the Diaz brothers, Jake Shields is yet another pro fighter responding to the cliché myth that vegetarians are weak with a swift kick to the head.
I got a chance to catch up with Jake recently about fighting, food, and teaching. Here is the interview:
Discerning Brute: Why do you fight?
Jake Shields: I’ve always loved to compete and MMA is competition to the max.
DB: There are so many myths about being vegetarian like you can’t get enough protein or you will be sick and weak. How would you respond to this as an athlete?
JS: Well I’m a life-long vegetarian and the diet obviously works. I also have two brothers that are strong and healthy. But you do have to have a good balanced diet and eat healthy foods. There’s plenty of ways to get protein other than eating meat.
DB: What was it like growing up veg?
JS: Never really felt any different. I never thought anything about it and nobody ever bothered me about it.
DB: What’s been your greatest accomplishment as an athlete?
JS: A lot of different things come to mind in grappling and MMA. But winning the RUMBLE ON THE ROCK TOURNAMENT was probably one of the best. It was an eight man tournament with 5 top ten fighters, Anderson Silva, Frank Trigg, Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Dave Menne & Renato Verissimo. I fought two really tough fights in one night against Yushim Okami and Carlos Condit in the finals.
DB: What kind of slack have you taken from teammates or opponents about your veg diet? Was your lifestyle ever an issue with your trainers or coaches?
JS: I haven’t really ever had any problem with anyone about my diet. The only problem is sometimes it’s hard to find good food when I’m traveling.
DB: What advice would you give anyone who wants to start training in martial arts?
JS: Find a good school and go for it. Train hard.
DB: What other veg fighters have you met or do you know. Is there a camaraderie there?
JS: There’s actually a number of them. Nick and Nate Diaz are practically vegetarian. There’s a lot of camaraderie among all the fighters, veggie or not.
DB: Would you consider fighting Mac Danzing in a VeggieBattle? That would be fun!
Ya, that’d be great–then I’d be King of the Vegie Fighters! But he’d have to come up, I’m not going down in weight.
DB: What’s next in your plans. Do you have an ultimate goal? A retirement plan?
JS: I just want to fight the best and be the best. I really love fighting. I won’t be retiring until I don’t love it anymore. I also like to teach. I’ve been teaching Gracie jiu jitsu and MMA since 2002 and just opened my own gym in Berkley a couple of weeks ago.
DB:Complete the sentence: In a perfect world…
JS: …I’ll be the UFC Champion next year.
For more info on Jake, click:
DB’s Etiquette Recommendation: There are tons of resources for vegan MMA Gear. Both Vitamins & Minerals of Brazil, and Everlast make decent non-leather MMA gloves. In addition, Combat Sport International, has 3 styles of vegan gloves, and UFC has several vegan gloves.
