HeavyMMA.com writes that UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre isn’t looking past Jake Shields.

After UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC 126 post-fight press conference, if welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defeats Jake Shields at UFC 128, that a super bout between he and middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva will happen later this year, people, fans and media alike, have been focused on that epic match up.

St. Pierre isn’t foolish enough to look ahead of what is in front of him, however.

“I don’t even think about it right now. I never thought about it. I always live in the present moment. My biggest problem is Jake Shields, and it would be foolish for me to look past Jake Shields,” said St. Pierre during a special press conference on Tuesday.

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UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva isn’t feeling any added pressure heading into the UFC 126 main even against Vitor Belfort writes Jeff Cain of HeavyMMA.com.

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva puts his belt on the line in the main event of UFC 126 against Vitor Belfort on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and he’s not feeling any added pressure.

“I just checked my blood pressure and it’s normal,” said Silva. “I don’t feel any extra pressure.”

Silva is coming off a dramatic come-from-behind submission win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in August. Sonnen was able to land punches and secure takedowns for most of the twenty three minutes that the fight lasted. With less than two minutes remaining, Silva locked on a triangle/arm bar and forced Sonnen to tap.

The Brazilian titleholder made some slight changes since that fight, but for the most part has trained for Belfort like he has all of his twelve UFC wins.

“I made a few adjustments, but pretty much I’ve been on the same track maintaining the thing that I always does. It’s a very intense training camp,” he said. “Of course I’m always working to improve, but I’ve just kept the intensity throughout, and I’m just going to go out there and do my job and do what I’m trained to do.”

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Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin broke down the UFC 126 main event between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort for HeavyMMA.com.

No one may be more qualified to discuss the UFC 126 main event between UFC middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort than Rich Franklin.

The former UFC middleweight champion has fought and lost to both Silva and Belfort and has studied them in preparation for those fights. Franklin would be considered an expert if called into court to testify about the match up.

“They’re similar because they’re both Brazilian and they’re both southpaws and both have a win over me,” jokingly said Franklin. “They’re both effective strikers. They’re both fast and use good footwork and all of that kind of stuff.”

While both primarily strikers who possess ground games, Silva and Belfort are different kinds of strikers. Silva employs kicks from the outside and needs distance to execute his craft. Belfort is more effective in the pocket unleashing combinations with his hands.

“Stylistically, on their feet, they’re different fighters. They’re both effective in their own rights,” said Franklin via conference call on Thursday. “It’s going to be interesting to see who’s going to come into the ring if this ends up being a stand up fight how this is going to play out stylistically.”

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According to HeavyMMA.com, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz wants to take on Georges St. Pierre or Anderson Silva.

Nick Diaz is scheduled to defend his Strikeforce welterweight crown against Evangelista Santos Jan. 29 in San Jose, Calif., but that didn’t stop him from calling out UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre on a media conference call Thursday promoting “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg.”

“I want to fight Georges St. Pierre,” said Diaz.
Diaz’ Cesar Gracie teammate Jake Shields takes on St. Pierre at UFC 129 on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

“I think my partner (Jake Shields) is going to take him out to be honest, coming up,” added the Strikeforce champion.

“I got here and started fighting before most of them, including Georges St. Pierre, in the UFC. I was really mad at first that they were getting fights and recognition when I was here first,” said Diaz when asked how he stacks up against other top ranked welterweights.

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Jeff Cain of HeavyMMA.com writes that Evan Dunham has put the controversial UFC 119 loss to Sean Sherk behind him and is focused solely on Melvin Guillard.

The spectators in attendance at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sept. 25 for UFC 119 were treated to a great lightweight fight between Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk that ended in a bad decision.

Most had Dunham winning the fight, including UFC president Dana White, who has commented that Dunham got “screwed” by the judges.

“The way I look at Evan Dunham right now is this kid’s undefeated. He got screwed,” said UFC president Dana white about Dunham and the split decision loss to Sherk. “I think Evan Dunham won that fight. So, you know, on his record he’s 11-1, but this kid’s one of the most talented, up and coming kids in the division.”

Dunham felt he won the fight as the scorecards were being read that night, but knows why “don’t leave it in the hands of the judges” is a too commonly uttered phase in mixed martial arts.

“I thought I had won it. My corner men had thought I won it but, you know, in MMA we all know that, you know, stuff happens that are out of your control, especially when it comes to the judges,” said 29-year old fighter.

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Nate Lawson of Heavy.com (via MMAjunkie.com) is reporting that the rumored fight between former UFC light heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will become a reality as the two have agreed to meet.

Machida will enter this fight coming off a disappointing knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113 that lost the karate ace his light heavyweight title. The loss was also his first as a professional.

Like his upcoming opponent, Jackson is coming off a loss of his own. At UFC 114, Jackson met longtime nemesis and fellow former champion Rashad Evans in the main event, dropping a unanimous decision. The loss was Jackson’s first since losing the 205-pound title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86.

The bout between the two former champions is expected to serve as the main event for UFC 123 this November. No bouts have been announced by the promotion as of this date.

For more MMA news from Heavy.com, click here.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Gina Carano appeared semi-nude (and fully hot) on the cover of ESPN: The Magazine’s “Body Issue.”

- Shinya Aoki won his best-of-three series against Joachim Hansen, Bibiano Fernandes kicked two separate asses, and the little Hulks beat the big Hulks at the DREAM.11 show in Yokohama on Tuesday. You can watch all the fight videos here and here.

- On Wednesday’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Team Rashad went up 4-0 thanks to Brendan Schaub’s grappling and Quinton Jackson’s awful coaching. If Rashad plays his cards right, he could be the first TUF coach to sweep the round-of-16.

- “TUF 8″ head-case Junie Browning was arrested for assaulting three nurses after a pill-related misunderstanding at a Las Vegas hospital.

- Mark Coleman blew out his knee and dropped out of his UFC 106 fight against Tito Ortiz. Ortiz called him a sissy. Coleman’s manager called Ortiz’s girlfriend a whore. Ortiz will now be facing Forrest Griffin in a rematch.

- UFC legend Chuck Liddell won another split-decision on “Dancing With the Stars.”

- We took a look at 10 of the wildest MMA fighter entrances of all time, and 10 career-ruining, soul-destroying fights.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Strikeforce announced that Fedor Emelianenko’s first opponent in their organization would be undefeated brawler Brett Rogers. Fedor responded to the news with a piss-poor jump-rope display.

- Gina Carano came out of hiding to thank her fans and give props to the woman who wrecked her two weeks ago. Speaking of Cris Cyborg, the Strikeforce women’s champ will be helping to revive the once-fearsome Chute Boxe name with her own gym in California.

- Shane Carwin doesn’t like Brock Lesnar’s attitude, *or* his taste in light beer.

- Could the UFC have a network television deal in the works?

- We watched the fastest knockout in MMA history, a kickass DREAM highlight reel, and Tito Ortiz’s latest lunkheaded video blog.

- New UFC Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks hasn’t given up her day job as a golf-caddy.

- Chuck Liddell began his training for “Dancing With the Stars.” God help us.

- UFC 102 goes down Saturday night in Portland. Check out our analysis of the card here and here, and come back to CagePotato.com at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the pay-per-view broadcast.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- Russian heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko told the UFC to get stuffed, and signed with rival MMA promotion Strikeforce. As you can imagine, Dana White wasn’t too happy about this.

- James Irvin officially became the most cursed MMA fighter in history.

- Josh Barnett’s latest steroid bust, which single-handedly destroyed Affliction’s MMA promotion, actually saved the sport of mixed martial arts.

- Speaking of ‘roids, BJ Penn is pretty sure that Georges St. Pierre uses them, because how else would you explain his physique? You know, other than genetics and hard work…

- Sengoku’s featherweight grand prix finals turned into a clusterbang of injuries and racism.

- Former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski may have attempted suicide after two straight knockout losses.

- Busty French-Canadian ring girl Edith Labelle exited the UFC under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it, she was too drunk to work UFC 100 last month.

- Swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the UFC 101 pay-per-view broadcast. You can get familiar with the card by reading this debate on the major topics of the event, and our always-helpful gambling advice. And remember: This ain’t Las Vegas, and it ain’t New Jersey. This is Philly.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

- In a press conference held Friday, UFC boss Dana White announced the returns of Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort, and promised to be close on another deal that will “change the UFC forever.”

- Unfortunately, getting Russian legend Fedor Emelianenko into the UFC remains a pipe-dream — and it will remain that way as long as Fedor has morons like Jerry Millen in his camp.

- Josh Barnett insists that he’s innocent of his latest steroid charge. His urine, however, is telling a different story.

- Speaking of ‘roids, we ran down every single steroid bust in MMA history, from Tim Sylvia’s ill-fated attempt to lose his gut to Kevin Randleman’s infamous “dead human or live animal” incident.

- Strikeforce’s August 15th show continues to undergo major changes, with Renato Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi brought over from Affliction’s canceled “Trilogy” card, Jay Hieron coming in to replace Joe Riggs, and Mitsuhiro Ishida replacing injured lightweight champ Josh Thomson. Luckily, Gina Carano is still looking quite healthy.

- Also in the wake of Affliction’s collapse, the UFC swooped in to rescue Ben Rothwell, Paul Daley, and Joe Lauzon’s little brother.

- Kenny Florian talked to us about his gameplan for BJ Penn, and set the record straight on that text message he may or may not have sent Penn that may or may not have accused Georges St. Pierre of greasing.