The current number one contender to the welterweight title, Jake Shields has made his choice. After a lackluster performance against Martin Kampann last Saturday at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Calif., the former Strikeforce middleweight champion has attributed his condition in the cage as part of a gruesome weight-cut prior to the welterweight tilt. Going five 5-minute rounds in back-to-back performances against the likes of Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Dan Henderson would certainly make you think that Shields has his conditioning down packed, however those two stints at the middleweight division is what ultimately (as he suggests) caused his weak performance against "The Hitman", though the Cesar Gracie protege eventually walked out the victor of a split-decision win. And with that win, Shields has now become the next man in line against the winner of GSP and Koscheck at UFC 124 in December, and if he had it his way, the French-Canadian will walk out with his belt around his waist, despite ties with the American Kickboxing Academy. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “TUF Talks”, where I recap and give my thoughts on the most recent episode of the popular and long-running UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”. Last week saw a glimmer of hope emerge for the ailing Team Koscheck, as Nam Pham scored a convincing win and gave his team their first victory of the season. Today’s episode features two fights that both end quickly and brutally, in addition to more team-on-team drama in the TUF house. Let’s dive right in and get “TUF Talks” started. ...

Should teammates fight each other? It’s a topic that only pops up ever so often, but when it does, it usually ignites a pretty big debate.  Many famous MMA stars have come out against the idea, in particular, Jon Fitch and Keith Jardine have stated several times that they will never fight their teammates. Other fighters seem a bit more willing to say “never say never”. However, you can add another big name to the list of fighters who aren’t only saying “never”, but “never ever not in a million years.” And that man just so happens to be one of the brightest prospects the ufc has ever seen. Here are all the details. ...

Straight from the Strikeforce PR department.  Herschel Walker will be all over ESPN on Wednesday talking about his next fight on Dec. 4th.  Walker continues to train at AKA in San Jose, CA along side UFC fighters Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.  Read on for details. ...

As I said in my latest episode of TUF Talks, I thought episode 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 was by far the best episode yet. We had guest appearances, motivational speeches, more heaping helpings of drama, and the elimination fight was very good. Overall, it felt like this all-Lightweight season of TUF really hit its stride and was beginning to live up to its potential with episode 5’s outing. Apparently I’m not alone in this sentiment, as Spike TV recently released the ratings for episode 5, and it’s currently the highest-rated episode of the season. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the latest edition of “TUF Talks”, where I recap and give my opinion on the latest episode of the “The Ultimate Fighter”. Last week’s episode 4 gave us an inspirational speech courtesy of boxing legend Mike Tyson, a near-fight, and another resounding victory for Team GSP. What will episode 5 have in store for us? Let’s dive right in and find out. ...

Dubbed as one of, if not the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, Georges St. Pierre knows the consequences of his actions. After a string of decisions in his last couple of fights, albeit against top-flight competition in Thiago Alves and Dan Hardy (respectively), the UFC welterweight champion has been pegged as a dominant, but boring fighter. Well, the mixed martial artist is looking to change all of those preconceived notions come December 11. ...

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. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the fourth edition of “TUF Talks”, where I recap and give my opinion on the latest episode in the long-running UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”. We’re four episodes in and already we’ve seen some good fights, some good drama, and some good guest-appearances. Today’s episode sees a near-fight, another prank, another tough battle inside the Octagon, and more Mike Tyson. Let’s get to it. ...

Season 12 coaches of "The Ultimate Fighter" Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck have been expected to tangle with one another at UFC 124, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in a welterweight clash. Champion GSP will look to make his fifth successful title defense against foe Koscheck. The two had met previously at UFC 74, where the American Kickboxing Academy product was riding a 5-fight win streak inside the cage coming into the bout, meanwhile, "Rush" was coming off of a disappointing and shocking knockout loss to the unheralded Matt Serra at UFC 69. While competitive in spots, St. Pierre was able to dominate the wrestling department against the former NCAA champion, en route to a unanimous decision victory. ...

Standing at 6'11, Stefan Struve is someone everyone notices, in or out of the cage. While he has garnered some disappointing losses since his inception to the ufc in 2009 against division standouts Junior dos Santos (UFC 95) and Roy Nelson (UFC Fight Night 21), he has also picked up some of the best come-from-behind wins, in recent memory. Beginning to make noise in the heavyweight division, "Skyscraper" will meet with perhaps his most well-known opponent to date, when he tangles with internet sensation, Sean McCorkle. ...

After a bit of a small start, it seems that “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 is gaining momentum. The ratings for episode three of the latest season of the popular UFC reality TV show are in, and they’re quite promising. Season 12 continues to deliver big ratings in the key males 18-34 demographic, while this week’s episode was the highest of the season so far. Here are all the details. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “TUF Talks”, where I recap and give my thoughts on the latest episode of “The Ultimate Fighter”. Last week’s episode saw the first inklings of drama and the first official TUF fight, with Team GSP taking the early lead on Team Koscheck. Today’s episode features a three-round war, a hilarious Koscheck prank, more drama, and a special appearance by boxing legend Mike Tyson. So let’s dive right in with another edition of “TUF Talks”. ...

While Paul Daley's position with Strikeforce has been up in the air for the most part, some citing the British welterweight was signed to a 6-fight deal, others saying he has yet to sign--it look's like the cat is out of the bag now. Not only is Daley officially signed with the organization, but he is set to make his promotional debut in a fight that has fireworks and knockout written all over it. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “TUF Talks”, where we at Fighters.com recap the latest edition of the popular UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”. Last episode saw the “fight to get into the house” fights. With a couple good full-length fights intermixed with the always-popular fight montages, fourteen men proved themselves worthy of being on TUF. Today’s episode saw the formations of teams, the beginning of mind games between coaches Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck, and the early inklings of what drama we can look forward to in the TUF house. Let’s get to it. ...

It’s been rumored, it’s been denied, it’s been on our minds for quite some time. And today it’s finally been confirmed: controversial heavy-handed striker and UFC exile Paul Daley is headed to strikeforce, according to both MMAMania and MMAWeekly. It was rumored that Daley had been in serious negotiations with the number 2 MMA promotion in the USA (and the world, for that matter) for months now, and it’s now known that  “Semtex” has signed a six-fight, multi-year contract. ...

The coach vs. coach rivalry is one of the biggest reasons that “The Ultimate Fighter” continues to draw in fans. Heading into the landmark twelfth season of the popular UFC reality TV show, fight fans will be treated to a fantastic rivalry as the soft-spoken Georges St. Pierre goes head-to-head on a weekly basis with the mile-a-minute trash-talker Josh Koscheck. Both fighters recently spoke about their impending opponent, and as one might guess, they didn’t mince words. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to "TUF Talks", a new weekly column I'll be doing where I recap the latest episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" as well as give my opinion on the show. Today's inaugural edition features the first episode of the landmark twelfth season of the popular UFC reality TV show. Our coaches are UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and his arch-rival, current #1 contender to the belt Josh Koscheck. Today’s episode saw the “fight to get into the house” fights, where 28 hopefuls were whittled down to fourteen in a series of fights that saw epic knockouts, amazing submissions, and dramatic come-from-behind victories. ...

Paul Daley rolls with the punches. He’s very controversial and has a large group of people openly against him, but you at least have got to give him that. After bursting onto the UFC scene with a massive TKO win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 103, Daley found himself in a possible championship scenario if he could just get past Josh Koscheck. It didn’t happen, and Daley’s notorious post-fight punch resulted in him receiving a lifetime ban from the UFC courtesy of Dana White. In a recent interview, Daley spoke at length about his issues with the controversial figurehead. ...

It’s that time again, fans and friends: a new cast of hopefuls are ready step foot into the Octagon. The landmark twelfth season of the popular UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” is less than a week away, and I’m personally very excited for this new season of TUF. In fact, here are my top 5 reasons why I’m looking forward to TUF Season 12. ...

Former UFC welterweight title challenger, Thiago Alves doesn't always get what he wants. This past Saturday, fellow UFC welterweight Mike Pierce, who submitted Brazilian prospect Almicar Alves (no relation--Alves' are Brazil's Jones') in the third round at UFC 118 called out the former contender, in helps to levy himself in better standings in the ultra-competitive division. While "The Pitbull" was quick to accept the challenge against Pierce, it looks like it was too little, too late. ...

The highly intriguing rematch between Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck for the UFC Welterweight Championship has now been given a date and venue: the two will clash at UFC 124 on December 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The two top-of-the-world Welterweights are set to star opposite one another on the upcoming twelfth season of the popular reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter”. This will be GSP’s fifth title defense since winning the belt back from Matt Serra at UFC 83. This will be Koscheck’s first championship fight, which he earned with a lopsided Unanimous Decision win over Paul Daley, whose post-fight punch got the heavy-handed British striker permanently banished from the UFC. So long as no injuries or other extenuating circumstances causes either man to show up in less-than-stellar form or even pull out of the fight altogether, here's how I see the fight breaking down. ...

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez is making changes. After his losses to former champion BJ Penn at lightweight, and then budding welterweight star John Hathaway, Diego will try his hand once again at the 170-pound division at UFC 121 against Paulo Thiago. Sanchez largely made his name after winnings "The Ultimate Fighter" season one as a middleweight, before dropping down to the welterweight division in dominating fashion. After defeating fellow finalist Kenny Florian at the TUF finale, Diego would make a name for himself in victories over Karo Parisyan, Nick Diaz, and Joe Riggs. While Diego can attribute a large amount of his success to his hard work and dedication, but in some respects a little of that success also needs to be addressed to the man, the myth, the legend--Greg Jackson. ...

Heading into his UFC 118 Lightweight Championship fight with current champion Frank Edgar, former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight Champion BJ Penn has perhaps never been more focused on getting his belt back. Penn lost his Lightweight championship at UFC 112 via a very controversial Unanimous Decision loss to Edgar, a decision that was in fact so controversial that it convinced UFC President Dana White and other assorted UFC top brass to make an immediate rematch. Penn’s focus is entirely zeroed-in on reclaiming his championship and returning to his once-dominant ways, but Penn recently stated that a return to the UFC’s Welterweight division was not out of the question. ...

In the battle to get MMA legalized worldwide, most fans and insiders agree that the last great battle will be on the streets of New York. If the UFC and MMA can just get their foot in the door in the big apple, it’s widely theorized that any other holdouts will quickly follow suit. While our victory in New York still eludes us, today is an important day for every Mixed Martial Arts fan: Ontario has legalized Mixed Martial Arts. ...

The verdict is in for heavy-handed striker and former UFC Welterweight Paul Daley, as Quebec’s Governing Body of Alcohol, Races and Games has given “Semtex” a thirty-day suspension from MMA competition as a result of Daley’s post-fight cheap-shot attempt after losing to Josh Koscheck at UFC 113. Not only did the post-fight fisticuffs get Daley immediately fired from the UFC, but Dana White personally swore that Daley would never be allowed to compete in the UFC again, no matter how good he does outside of the world’s largest MMA promotion. Some say Daley has suffered enough, losing his spot near the top of the Welterweight division and being knocked back down to the minors after such a promising start in the UFC, but I honestly disagree. A thirty day suspension is little more than a slap on the wrist, and Daley deserves a lot more for reinforcing the exact stereotype that the UFC has been trying for years to break down: that their fighters are a bunch of classless animals. ...

"SemTex" Paul Daley (20-10-2) has issued a formal apology following his post-fight sucker punch at Josh Koscheck (15-4) in the aftermath of his loss at UFC 113. What follows is that apology to the UFC, Koscheck, and the fans: ...

The fight night has come to an end and at UFC 113 Josh Koscheck (15-4) wrestled his way to a decision win over "SemTex" Paul Daley (20-10-2). That was only loss number one for Daley this night though as both him and Kimbo got some bad news post-fight. ...

This is the first column of this sort for Fighters.com. I am going to be doing these once a week where we get a look at some of the smaller stories, one liners, much more all pertaining to mixed martial arts. ...

MiddleEasy has reported that the winner of the fight between Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (14-4) and "SemTex" Paul Daley (20-9-2) will be the coach opposite Fighters.com and UFC welterweight champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (20-2) on "The Ultimate Fighter 12" television series on Spike TV. ...