Jake Shields is a father, fighter and soon-to-be gym owner. On Saturday he hopes to add an EliteXC title defense to his resume. Sherdog.com spoke with him about his future, EliteXC’s future and the UFC.

Sherdog.com: Do you think Paul Daley is your toughest fight to date?
Shields: I think he’s a tough opponent, but I don’t think he’s my toughest fight to date. He’s certainly … he’s dangerous. He’s probably the best stand-up fighter I’ve faced, but I think I’ve probably fought tougher competition before.

Sherdog.com: Like who?
Shields: I fought a lot of good guys, so it’s hard to compare, but guys like [Yushin] Okami, Hayato Sakurai. I fought [Kazuo] Misaki and Carlos Condit. I’ve fought quite a few tough guys.

Sherdog.com: He hits really hard. Like you said, he’s probably the most dangerous stand-up guy you’ve faced. What’s the hardest you’ve been hit during training and in a fight?
Shields: In a fight … I’ve never really been rocked that bad. The only time I [was] is hard to find. A guy that did land a good one on me -- what was that guy’s name? Milton Vieira caught me with a good knee right on the jaw.

Other than that, I’ve never really been hit so hard in a fight. In training, I’ve been hit lots of times. Gilbert Melendez, Nick Diaz -- these guys always hit me. Luckily, I’ve never been knocked out, but they’ve given me some hard shots.

Sherdog.com: Daley’s been talking about how he’s going to outclass you. On your end, as the defending champion, do you think Daley deserves a shot?
Shields: You know, he’s probably the number one guy for [EliteXC] right now contending for the shot. I don’t think he’s had the kind of competition I’ve had to deserve the shot, but I guess as far as our sport goes, he deserves it.

Sherdog.com: The fight is being marketed as the best from the U.S. versus the best from Britain. Do you feel you’re being pushed enough in this really important fight of yours or is it still the Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice show?
Shields: I’m being pushed a lot more, so I can’t complain. I always feel like I can be more, but this is the biggest push they’re giving me, so I’m not gonna complain. I’m going to go out there and keep doing my job. I’m gonna keep getting a bigger and bigger push. I just have to go out there, put on a good, exciting fight, beat Daley, and from there obviously they’ll want to push me.

Sherdog.com: Do you get tired of people asking you UFC questions?
Shields: Yeah, sometimes. Definitely, yeah. You hear it over and over, “Why aren’t they there?” I certainly have a ton of respect for the UFC and the guys fighting there. At this point, I’m looking at this as a better option for my contract and I like EliteXC.

Sherdog.com: Cool. Right now we’re going to do the UFC portion of the interview.
Shields: [Laughs]

Sherdog.com: What has your correspondence been with the UFC?
Shields: Right now, my dad handles my [management]. He’s definitely talked to them in the past, but I don’t think he’s talked to them since I signed a new contract. … But I know we had a very positive relationship, good talks, before I signed with EliteXC.

Sherdog.com: What do you think their level of interest is in you?
Shields: I’m pretty sure they’re very interested as far as I know. I’m not 100-percent sure. Only Dana [White] and Joe Silva know. But it seems like they’re very friendly to me, treating me good. I’m pretty sure [I’m] respected.

Sherdog.com: You’re talking about the Georges St. Pierre fight a lot lately. Do you have any reason to believe you can get that fight while you’re not in the UFC?
Shields: I mean, you never know. It’s certainly a possibility. Obviously, you know at this point most likely it’d be a UFC fight. It’s something I’m interested in and one day might happen. But also, the possibilities of GSP coming to other shows like Affliction, who he’s sponsored by, and things like that, you never know what’s going to happen.

Sherdog.com: You were in negotiations with Affliction to fight at 185 pounds. Is that something you’re still going to pursue in the future, especially if you can get more important fights outside of the UFC?
Shields: Definitely a good chance. Like I said, I’m just kind of worried about getting through this fight. Daley is a good opponent, don’t want to look past him. But Affliction and I have a good relationship, and that’s something I’d be willing to do.