Jake Shields

In his early years, Shields was home-schooled and raised in Mountain Ranch, a remote of part of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. As the child of hippie parents, Jake had long hair which made him a frequent target of other kids which lead to fights. With his older brothers, Shields took up caving, mountain biking and snowboarding. At age 9, Shields started competing in sports and took up wrestling, just as his older brothers had. While attending Calaveras High School, shields competed in the Amateur Athletic Union National Freestyle Championships and later qualified for the U.S.A/Fila Nationals & World Team Trials in different divisions. Shields became a two time All American at Cuesta College. In September 1999, while attending Cuesta College, Shields began MMA training at SLO Kickboxing Academy after meeting its owner, Chuck Liddell, who encouraged him to try the sport. A month later, it was due to an injured teammate which leads to Shields, a natural welterweight, competing at