Question: Thomas, you talked about being the underdog, kind of being expected to lose. Certainly people are going to favor Nick but he hasn't looked all that fantastic his last few fights. Do you expect him to look and be at his best or do you think maybe he's slipping, not training as hard as he used to, there are holes in his game you can take advantage of?

Denny: Nick said what he has going on. I can't be a judge of that, so I don’t know. I've seen his last few fights. I hope he comes at me like he has come in his last few fights. I think he's looked real slow and sluggish. I'm definitely going to look at going out and pushing a very fast, hard pace. I hope he can hang and put on a good show for the fans.

Question:Nick, obviously Jake didn't grow up in Stockton, but he grew up pretty close and went to high school in the area. Do you think that's an advantage or disadvantage for you knowing there’s a good chance he's going to be the fan favorite?

Thompson: I think there's two sides to that coin. There are certainly advantages to fighting at home. You know the area. You don't have to travel. And the fact that you've got the crowd cheering for you. But there are also disadvantages. There's pressure. Like Jake was saying, there's people asking you for tickets, stuff like that. At the end of the day, it's probably a wash.

Question: Nick, you talk about wanting to fight Jake straight up but you also have a great history on the mat. Are you pretty confident if you have to go down and trade holds down there, you'll be OK?

Thompson: Yeah, that's what makes this fight so interesting. One of us may have a slight edge somewhere, but it's not enough of an edge. You're not going to see the classic style matchup of a grappler versus a striker. This is going to be two fighters that really can fight anywhere. I'm able to keep on the feet. Jake is more than adequate on the feet. If it hits the ground, I'm decent on the ground. It's going to be an interesting fight wherever it goes.

Question: Jake, Drew Fickett seemed to imply you did not want to fight him and backed out of the fight because you didn't want to fight him. Can you comment on that?

Shields: I just think that's laughable. I would fight Drew Fickett any time. The people at EliteXC decided to pull him. I said I would still fight him after he pulled out of the fight. The guy pulled out of my fight (and then fought a week earlier). I'll fight him anytime. If he wants to fight after this one, I have no problem. I think he's a great guy, I have nothing against him. I just think he's a little crazy and not all there, a little delusional. He thinks you can pull out of a fight and fight the week before and have the (promoters) not be mad at him. But like I said, I'll fight him anytime. It's EliteXC that made the choice to pull him.