Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields is no stranger to success. The noted wrestler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu player has been at or near the top of MMA's welterweight division since he burst on the MMA landscape after defeating the legendary Hayato "Mach" Sakurai back in 2002.

Since that time, Shields has gone an astounding 17-1 including victories in his past 13 contests over the likes of Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle, Nick Thompson, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler and now Jason "Meyhem" Miller.

The natural welterweight has been forced to move up to middleweight due to the UFC's stranglehold on quality welterweight opponents, but has made the most of it, by defeating two of the world's best middleweight's en route to a Strikeforce middleweight title.

The newly crowed champion sat down with Tommy Kail of FiveKnuckles.com to discuss his recent victory over Miller, his aspirations for future matchups as well as his desire to compete at both welterweight and middleweight, and a whole lot more.

FiveKnuckles.com: Did you plan on taking the fight to the ground as soon as the opportunity presented itself or did you adjust accordingly?

Jake Shields: I didn't have a particular game plan going in. I just went in there to fight and it ended up on the ground. I didn't mind standing up with Mayhem, but he was so aggressive on his feet coming forward that we couldn't avoid a tie up. He was also trying to take me down so I figured it would be in my best interest to get him on his back first.

FiveKnuckles.com: U.S. fans tend to get impatient when a fight stays on the ground as was the case in Chicago. Did that bother you or is the crowd not a factor?

Jake Shields: Yeah, it bothered me a little bit. I would've liked to finish the fight, but Mayhem was really tough. I wasn't able to catch him in a submission. I was definitely hoping to put him away, unfortunately I wasn't able to. In a situation like that, a fighter needs to ignore the fans and stick to the game plan. In my defense, a win's a win no matter which way you look at it.

FiveKnuckles.com: Did Mayhem surprise you with anything, or was his game plan what you expected?

Jake Shields: Mayhem was everything I was expecting. I think some people were overlooking him, but I know he's a good fighter. I've studied many of his fights. He's always super aggressive and in really good shape. I didn't expect anything other than a tough fight. I was obviously expecting to put him away at some point, but that wasn't the case. I was trying to finish him. I hit him with some hard shots. I had a few chokes that were pretty close. I almost had the twister in. He escaped every move that I attempted. Mayhem is a very durable fighter. He's one of the toughest guys to finish in the sport.

FiveKnuckles.com: You seemed to be in some trouble of being submitted by what looked like a very tight rear naked choke at the end of round three. Were you saved by the bell?

Jake Shields: Not necessarily. I was trying to weather the storm as the round was coming to a close. I'm not...