UFC 121 was a milestone event for several fighters competing at the card, but few had as much to lose as new UFC signee Jake Shields. Shields was riding into the UFC on a fourteen-fight win-streak that saw him capture both the EliteXC Welterweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Shields had a lot of hype to justify the moment he stepped into the Octagon, and perhaps that ended up affecting his performance, as he barely wrestled a close Split Decision victory out of his fight with Martin Kampmann. Now 1-0 in the UFC and 26-4-1 overall, Shields pointed to a very difficult weight cut as to why his performance at UFC 121 was so poor when compared to his recent hot streak. ...

ufc 121 “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” is now in the history books, and what an event it was. We saw a new champion, close victories, big victories, and several very entertaining fights. 121 was filled to the brim with fighters that have all spent time at the top of the cards in recent years, but based on their performances at the event, it’s safe to say that some will be keeping that spot for the foreseeable future while others will be tumbling both down the cards and in relevancy. As is customary after every major PPV, here are my thoughts on what’s next for some of the big winners and losers at UFC 121: “Lesnar vs. Velasquez”. ...

ufc 121 “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” airs today live on Pay-Per-View from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. In the main event, Cain Velasquez looks to become the first Mexican UFC champion in promotional history when he takes on current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. The event will also feature the promotional debut of former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields, and the promotional return of former long-reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz. Everyone’s talking about UFC 121, so here are my picks and predictions for the night’s major fights. ...

MMA legend Renzo Gracie took some time this week to speak on-camera with Fighters.com in New York City. In this clip, Gracie shares his thoughts and predictions on all the main card fights at UFC 121. Find out why he is picking Jake Shields over Martin Kampmann plus his thoughts on Brock Lesnar v. Cain Velasquez. Stay tuned to Fighters.com for Part 2 of our video interview where we talk about Matt Hughes, Ricardo Almeida, and the upcoming Frankie Edgar v. Gray Maynard lightweight title fight.  Coming soon. Click through to watch the video. ...

Dana White has made no secret in the month's leading into Jake Shields' eventually signing with the UFC, the impact that the Cesar Gracie protege could have in the organization's welterweight division. Nothing was made more evident when the former Strikeforce middleweight champion was able to successfully defend his title against former PRIDE middleweight and welterweight champion, MMA legend Dan Henderson. After a shaky first round which saw Henderson land his trademark thunderous right hand which dropped Jake, he was able to mount back an offense, and dominated the Team Quest fighter for the remainder of the fight, winning every round thereafter en route to a unanimous decision victory, which was aided through his ground prowess. ...

Throughout his career, Jake Shields has been dogged on; deemed as a "flash in the pan", he turned heads when after breaking a streak of decision victories, albeit over top-flight competition in former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne, Yushion Okami, and Carlos Condit (respectively), he went on to finish his next eight-opponents. Now riding a 14-fight win streak, retaining his Strikeforce middleweight title in a successful defense against former PRIDE and UFC star, Dan Henderson. After contract negotiations fizzled out with the San Jose based organization, Shields eventually landed his spot atop of the UFC's 170-pound weight class, where now, he might be one win away from a coveted shot at the most prestigious title in the world. ...

I don’t know how it happened, considering how much I used to absolutely loathe him, but I’ve somehow become a fan of Nick Diaz. I think Diaz has emerged as one of the premier Welterweights in the sport, and one of Strikeforce’s best assets. He’s very controversial, but he backs it all up. Now more and more I find myself really looking forward to every single one of his fights. With that in mind, here are my top five picks for opponents I’d like to see Nick Diaz fight, regardless of promotion or availability. ...

2010 is drawing closer and closer to a close, and with UFC 118 now over and done with, there are only a handful of major-name events left for MMA in 2010. Despite that, I think the end of the year will have some of 2010’s best fights. There’s still a lot of great action left to look forward to, so here are my top 5 (officially announced) fights I’m looking forward to for the rest of 2010. ...

For someone who once approached the upcoming video game “EA Sports MMA” with an incredible amount of hesitation, now more and more I’m thinking that October 19 can’t get here soon enough. In order to generate interest and encourage fans to open their wallets and put down a pre-order, EA Sports is revealing the entire roster of the game on a week-by-week, division-by-division basis. The Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight roster has already been revealed, and recently the Middleweights took center stage. EA Sports also recently revealed a teaser image of a famous venue that has yet to see a Mixed Martial Arts event. ...

While some are already labeling it a relatively boring fight, I think that the match-up between Ronaldo Souza and Tim Kennedy to crown a new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion was one of the best fights of the Strikeforce: “Houston” live card. Strikeforce needed a good champion in a big way following their mishandling of former Middleweight Champion Jake Shields, which involved Strikeforce putting all their money on new signee Dan Henderson beating Shields, only for Shields to instead dominate Henderson like few have ever dominated him before, right before he left the promotion and signed with the UFC. What we got was a stand-up war between two men not particularly known for their stand-up games. Still, it was very entertaining, and very close, which raises the question: how deserving is Tim Kennedy of an immediate rematch? ...

The Ultimate Fighting Championship recently released the official lineup for their upcoming UFC 121 event, and it should come as no surprise that Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight Championship against Cain Velasquez has taken center stage as the show’s main event. Brock Lesnar was last seen pulling off one of the biggest, best comebacks of 2010, absorbing all former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin had to give him for five full minutes, then submitting Carwin via Arm Triangle Choke early in the second round. Cain Velasquez’s last fight saw him demolish the once-unbreakable chin of PRIDE FC legend Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. UFC 121 will take place October 23 in Anaheim, California, and features a star-studded main card in addition to the big-money main event. ...

The Tennessee Athletic Commission determined yesterday that five individuals engaged in "conduct that is detrimental to a professional contest of unarmed combat." Those five individuals will receive fines and suspensions. ...

Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (25-4-1) won a five-round unanimous decision over former two-division PRIDE champion “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-8) by judges' scores of 49-46, 49-45, 48-45 to retain his title in Nashville Saturday night.  Fighters.com scored the fight 49-45 for Shields. Shields dominated rounds two through five by putting Henderson on his back with tenacious takedowns, often initially stuffed by Hendo', and tagging the former UFC challenger with punches from the mount.  Henderson was lost on his back, regaining his guard periodically, but never putting up much of a fight to get Shields off of him. ...

Fighters.com second-ranked middleweight and current Strikeforce champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) will be a free agent on April 17 regardless of if he wins or loses his next fight. ...

"It's the 17th and it's full steam ahead," said Strikefore CEO Scott Coker in an MMA Junkie interview Friday. "The 17th was always a good day when we chose it. We still feel the same way, and so does CBS." Rumors had surfaced that the date of the second Strikeforce event to air live on CBS could be moved depending on the UFC's decision to air counter programming coinciding with the Strikeforce broadcast. ...

In an interview with MMA Weekly Radio, Fighters.com second-ranked middleweight and Strikeforce champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) called former baseball all-star turned fighter Jose Canseco (0-1) "kind of a scumbag". ...

Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) might fight next for Strikefore in Nashville on April 17, according to an MMA Junkie Report. ...

There were no fights in the mixed martial arts welterweight top ten in January and, therefore, no movement in the rankings for February. Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) and fifth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) are set to battle for the top spot at UFC 111 in Newark March 27.  Predictions range far and wide, from Hardy has one foot in the grave to Hardy is the man to upset St. Pierre like "The Terror” Matt Serra (9-6) di at UFC 69 in Houston in 2007. ...

"I think [Vitor Belfort] is a great fighter," Fighters.com's fourth-ranked middleweight “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2) told MMA Weekly Radio recently.  "I don’t necessarily agree with him getting a shot or whatever, just because he really hasn’t fought at 85," he added. ...

Fighters.com's fifth-ranked welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) has one chance at beating Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2) at UFC 111 in Newark March 27.  It's a slim chance, despite the hype that is being spun to convince us that the Hardy versus St. Pierre matchup is competitive. ...

The main event of UFC Fight Night 20 on January 11 is Fighters.com fifth-ranked lightweight "Bully" Gray Maynard (8-0) versus Nate Diaz (10-5) in a battle for title contention. Many questions will be answered in this fight about these two fighters who are both searching for that title shot against Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (15-5-1). ...

"I finish fights," declared Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) soon after losing a unanimous decision to then UFC lightweight champion “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-4-1) at UFC 64 in Las Vegas in 2006. ...

MMA Gospel Radio presents another amazing show this week. Reverend Turk and Gary Friedman welcome Hermes Franca (19-8) as the first guest on the show. Hermes has signed with MAX Fights DM where he will fight for the interim lightweight belt against January 8. ...

Strikeforce middleweight "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (9-2) climbed a rung to to number eight in December with a first-round submission of “The Law” Matt Lindland (21-7) at Evolution in San Jose December 19. ...

As the new year is fast approaching I sat pondering how far this sport of ours had come since it's beginning. Then the future of the sport started to permeate my thoughts. Where will we see it go in the coming year? Will it fade a little bit or will we see it continue to forge ahead and make it's way into the upper echelons of the sporting world? I am a mma radio host as well as a journalist but first and foremost I am a mixed martial arts fan and I have three wishes for the coming year. ...

Today in an interview with Fight Magazine Frank Shamrock (22-9-1) stated "I don’t want to fight  Jake Shields because he has no personality, he’s a boring fighter, and when he got on to CBS, and it was his chance to be a star, he leg humped ["Mayhem" Jason Miller] all night long, and killed our ratings. That’s why I don’t want to fight Jake Shields". ...

Former two-division PRIDE champion, two-division UFC title challenger, and Fighters.com's third-ranked middleweight “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (24-7) has signed with Strikeforce after a 22-month, 3-2 stint with the UFC. ...

Fighters.com's ninth-ranked welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) took one small step ahead in the 170-pound rankings this month after winning a three-round unanimous decision over now tenth-ranked “Quick” Mike Swick (14-3) at UFC 105 in Manchester November 14 and a giant leap into a title fight versus Fighters.com and UFC Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2), probably at UFC 110 in Sydney February 21. ...

The M-1 Global/Strikeforce fight between Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) and fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1) that ended on the impact of an Emelianenko KO punch in the second round on CBS November 7 is now viewable at CBS's website in standard and high definitions. ...

Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight Jake Shields (23-4-1) cemented his status as top contender to Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva's (25-4) titles and picked up the Strikeforce strap himself in a five-round unanimous decision over former top ten and nails-tough “Mayhem” Jason Miller (22-7) at Strikeforce in Chicago November 7. ...