Jake Shields has not fought the best competition in the world recently.

Nevertheless, Shields has maintained his ranking as a top ten welterweight. His last few fights have been dominating performances against overmatched opponents like Paul Daley, Nick Thompson, and Mike Pyle. With the recent announcement of a fight for Shields against Robbie Lawler, Strikeforce is making sure his streak of easy opposition is about to end.

Due to the blow-up at EliteXC, Shields has been inactive since October 2008. He was the welterweight champion at EliteXC, but Strikeforce has chosen not to officially recognize any of the EliteXC champions. One weightclass that Strikeforce boasts a lot of top fighters in is the middleweight division. Rather than wait for Strikeforce to bring in fighters at his usual weight, Shields has decided to move up in order to face another former Elite XC champion in Lawler.

Shields and Lawler will be doing battle in the main event for the second Showtime card. The fight will originate in June from Lawler’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. With other potential opponents like Frank Shamrock, Cung Le, Benji Radach, and Scott Smith (Shields would never fight training partner and friend Nick Diaz), Shields certainly has plenty of potential marquee match-ups in the division.

We recently caught up with Shields to discuss a variety of topics including his thoughts on the upcoming match-up with Robbie Lawler, who he’d like to fight at welterweight, and what he thinks about UFC President Dana White’s positive comments about him.

Question: What are your thoughts on the fight between yourself and former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler?

Jake Shields: I’m excited about it. It’s one I asked for, and Strikeforce put it together for me. It makes sense. We’re both former EliteXC champions. Even though we were at different weights, it’s definitely a good fight. It’s a main event, and the fight should be exciting. Plus, I needed a challenge for myself and what better challenge than moving up a weight to fight a top five middleweight.

Q: Are you looking towards a possible fight with Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le?

JS: Cung is a friend of mine, and he holds the title in Strikeforce. I’m not sure how much Cung is fighting right now. With his inactivity, he’s going to have to fight or get stripped soon. Me and Lawler could possible lead into that.

Q: What do you think about not holding a title anymore – even though you never lost in the cage?

JS: It kind of sucks, but it is what it is. Strikeforce is a different show, and you just have to deal with it. I’m right back on Showtime though so not much has changed. It’s a main event fight so it’s definitely not a step backward.

Q: The first opponent for you that was very close to coming fruition was Joe Riggs. What happened with that fight?

JS: That fight was very close to coming together, but I was not super excited about it. I told them I would do it because I’ll fight anyone they want. Joe Riggs is a good fighter, but his last few fights have been about 50-50 so I’d like to see him get a few wins first. Then, they asked about Robbie Lawler, and I said definitely.

Q: Once you return to welterweight with Strikeforce, are there potential opponents currently being talked about?

JS: They mentioned (Shinya) Aoki and (Frank) Trigg. They want to bring in some big names for me.

Q: Switching topics a little, Dana White of the UFC was always very complimentary when talking about you. When Elite XC was in turmoil, White said, “If and when the EliteXC situation gets resolved, I’d be very interested in signing him.” How did that make you react?

JS: I think it’s great that Dana would say those things about me. That’s very rare for another organization. I have a ton of respect for the UFC, and I certainly could end up there someday. I was close when I was about to file a lawsuit (against EliteXC). I was talking to the UFC, and as soon as the suit was over, I was going to switch over. But once Scott Coker bought it, I saw that Strikeforce was very good to me. I definitely don’t want to get caught in a lawsuit. Right now, I’m about finishing my contract and taking it from there.

Q: How long are you signed for with Strikeforce?

JS: I have several fights. I’m not exactly sure of the total.