UFC Welterweight Jake Shields Named “Most Animal-Friendly Athlete” by PETA

By kevinmarshall On January 7, 2011 · 5 Comments

Jake Shields in his PETA advert

PETA has named UFC welterweight fighter and former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Jake Shields “Most Animal-Friendly Athlete.”

Shields, a lifelong vegeterian, was given the distinction at this year’s Libby Awards. Other vegeterian athletes in the running include fellow MMA fighter and boxer KJ Noons, Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire, and the WNBA’s Candace Parker.

In addition to the award, Shields has also appeared in various PETA online and print advertisements for the organization.

Shields is the consensus #2 Welterweight (170 lbs.) in the world and is a former EliteXC Welterweight Champion and Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, the latter of which he vacated when he left the organization to sign with the UFC. Shields is in his 11th year of MMA competition and boasts a resume that includes wins over Dan Henderson, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley, Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, and Hayato Sakurai. He is in the midst of a 15 fight win streak, having not lost a fight since December of 2004.

Shields is scheduled to face Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight championship at UFC 129 in April.

BELOW: Shields talks about being a vegeterian athlete for peta2.

Learn more about Jake Shields at peta2.com.

5 Responses to UFC Welterweight Jake Shields Named “Most Animal-Friendly Athlete” by PETA

jakester says:

January 7, 2011 at 12:23 pm

Uh, maybe he IS an animal…

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Frank James Davis says:

January 7, 2011 at 12:55 pm

If the truly radical animal rights groups ultimately have their way, it may soon be reigning cats and dogs.

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Nicole M.Arciello Berhaupt says:

January 8, 2011 at 4:51 pm

Thank you for writing this, Kevin. It isn’t often that our two worlds collide. I think it is great for people to see that an athlete (and such a “manly” one at that!) is vegetarian, and isn’t withering away and also cares about animals.

I am also hoping for a copy of that poster for my office!

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Tina says:

January 9, 2011 at 9:25 am

Thanks so much for this post, Kevin!

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Cihan says:

January 9, 2011 at 10:08 pm

It’s nice to see someone athletic in the spotlight that can show that you don’t need meat to get protein and have impressive musculature. I get tired of explaining to others why my diet isn’t going to make me sick or super skinny.

I will say that his man-scaping looks itchy (didn’t notice until I blew up the poster).

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