FanHouse Joe Rigss

After eight months away from the cage while in legal limbo, former EliteXC welterweight champ Jake Shields returns in one of the biggest tests of his career, moving up to a 182-pound catch weight to fight former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.

The matchup takes place Saturday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, about a 15-minute drive from Lawler's current hometown in Granite City, Illinois. The event airs on Showtime at 10 pm ET.

Shields was nice enough to take some time out of his fight week schedule and talk to FanHouse about moving up in weight classes, why he'd fight either Joe Riggs or Kimbo Slice, how close he came to joining the UFC and more.