Joe Ferraro

Jake Shields.

It's been over a decade in the making but Jake Shields is a mere signature away from achieving his dream: to fight for The Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As posted on Graciefighter.com, the life-long vegetarian and Southern California native will soon make his debut with the big show, and will finally return to his natural weight, 170 lbs, as opposed to competing in the middleweight class, which he did successfully under the Strikeforce banner.

While the deal has yet to be signed, it is apparently just a formality at this point and the soon-to-be-former 185 lbs champ will face one of the UFC's top contenders in his debut.

With most of the elite welterweights already signed to bouts, the question everyone is asking, is "who will that fighter be?"

Looking at the UFC's roster, the three names that come to mind are Martin Kampman, Paulo Thiago and Diego Sanchez.

If Shields, and the UFC, want to fast track a showdown with current champion Georges St-Pierre, then the obvious choice would be Kampman.

"The Hitman" recently defeated Thiago at UFC 115, while Sanchez is coming off a loss to John Hathaway at UFC 114.

Shields is riding a 14-fight winning streak dating back to 2005, and he has defeated the likes of Dan Henderson, Robbie Lawler, Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Jason Miller and Paul Daley. The latter was a top contender with the UFC, whose only loss in the octagon came in his last bout vs. Josh Koschek. It should be noted that Shields made quick work of "Semtex," submitting him with an arm bar in the second round.

In 2002, while working with the Universal Combat Challenge, I was contacted by Jack Shields, his father and manager, to discuss the possibility of having him compete in Canada. While I tried valiantly to get the deal done, I had to inform Shields that the owners (at the time) were not interested.

Ironically enough, just a few months earlier, a fighter now known as "GSP" made his MMA debut, quickly became the welterweight champion in his second fight, and I wanted to set up a bout with Jake.

One can just imagine if it actually happened, alas, hopefully it can now take place on a much grander scale.

Misc News and Notes

* In this video here, Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida speak about Chael Sonnen, Fabricio Werdum, Rampage Jackson, and more. The answers are as politically correct as one can imagine, but great to hear from the legends none the less.

* A report has surfaced that undefeated heavyweight Bobby Lashley's opponent at the Strikeforce: Houston event on Saturday, August 21st will be Chad Griggs, a veteran of the IFL and Rage in the Cage.

* FEG, the owners of Japanese promotions, DREAM and K-1 have currently partnered up with PUJI CAPITAL to take their brands to the next level. While great for their company, they have officially stirred the pot by stating ""This is a declaration of war against the WWE and UFC. From Asia, we will take the world." I look forward to standing in front of Dana White to get his thoughts, as we all know, this has the potential for getting ugly - and fast.