Just hours away from his Polaris 3 co-main event with Jake Shields, BJJ standout AJ Agazarm sat down with BloodyElbow.com to talk about his upcoming match. There are numerous parallels to be played upon when comparing Jake Shields and AJ Agazarm; both Agazarm and Shields wrestled collegiately, and both have adopted the American jiu-jitsu moniker. While some see this fight as a passing of the guard, Agazarm sees it as an easy night’s work.
On the eve of his biggest match to date, there is only one thing on Agazarm’s mind.
“All I can really think about right now is making Jake eat his own words and making him pay. I didn’t come here to put Jake down, I came here to show that Jake is the second best jiu-jitsu guy at this event and he’s a dope, he’s a lummox, he just goes through the motions, tries to grind out the match and just hopes for the victory.”
When asked if he felt that Shields’ heart was still in jiu-jitsu, Agazarm had an impassioned response.
“That was one of the things that really bothered me, he said that he’s taking an easy fight, and that’s a colossal insult to the fans. Do you think the fans deserve your mediocre effort, Jake? Do you think I am an easy fight? Okay, well let’s entertain that thought. If Jake thinks I am an easy fight then that means that a draw and he loses. I don’t want a draw, I don’t want him to want a draw, I want him to look for the submission, I want him to go for it. I want him to eat his own words.”
Agazarm went on to divulge tales of his training matches with Shields from back in the day:
“I used to own Jake in the practice room, I used to submit him in the practice room. Jake has got good wrestling, he’s got a little bit of knowledge about submissions and he’s really tough, but no matter how you match us up, I am better than him.”
The rivalry between the pair has become heated since arriving in London with both trading insults and as far as AJ Agazarm is concerned, there is no love lost between the pair:
“He’s been calling me a dork. Congrats man, 1992 called and they want their word back. Jake has the personality of a boiled napkin. You open up his cranium and you see the consistency of a boiled up napkin, there’s nothing there. My greatest challenge at Polaris 3 isn’t defeating Jake Shields, it is making people interested enough to watch this fight and that’s what I want to do.”
While Jake Shields will be a stiff test, Agazarm has plans for his next Polaris opponent:
“I would like to face the winner of Garry Tonon and Rousimar Palhares. I think Garry Tonon tough and resilient and his match vs. Palhares is going to be a good match. Garry is on a new level and he is taking risks, that’s what this sport needs, more risk takers.”
You can watch Shields and Agazarm go at it tomorrow on the Polaris 3 pay-per-view. The main card kicks off at 6:30PM UK time/ 1:30 ET and is headlined by a match between former WSOF champion Rousimar Palhares and Garry Tonon.