Jake Shields vs Martin Kampmann official for UFC 121; GSP and Koscheck will square off on December 11th

Now it’s official. Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields is now a UFC fighter. Shields confirmed the news through his Twitter account, revealing that the Danish vet Martin Kampmann will be his first opponent: “UFC contract officially signed. Fighting Kampmann in CA in a few months. Thanks to Dana White and everyone for their support””

The California event Shields is referring to is UFC 121, which will be headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Title clash between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez. The event will take place on October 23rd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, which also served as a venue for Affliction: Day of Reckoning, almost two years ago.

Jake Shields is currently ranked as TOP 10 Pound for Pound Fighter in the World, and Top 3 Welterweight in the World by various MMA websites and magazines.

Also on Twitter, Josh Koscheck revealed that he will be fighting Georges “Rush” St. Pierre on December 11th (UFC 123). The two Welterweights will compete against each other as coaches on TUF 12 reality show, which will start airing on September 15th, as the final will take place on December 4th.

The news create a very interesting situation in the UFC Welterweight division. If the winner of the Jon Fitch vs Alves fight is about to get a title shot, this could mean a year-long layoff before facing the winner of December clash between GSP and Koscheck. On the other hand, Shields-Kampmann bout is just two months away from UFC 123, which makes it as a more likely #1 UFC Welterweight contender fight.

For the bonus, here’s the UFC 119: Mir vs Nogueira II poster: