Jeff Zelevansky
A lineup is forming for the UFC welterweight title.
First up for champion Georges St-Pierre is Josh Koscheck on Dec. 11 at UFC 124 in GSP's hometown of Montreal.
UFC president Dana White confirmed on the weekend that Jake Shields is in the 170-pound on-deck circle, after the former Strikeforce champion won a decision over Martin (Hitman) Kampmann at UFC 121.
And UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta was quoted by www.mmajunkie.com after the weekend card in Anaheim that a bout between St-Pierre and middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva was "probably the one fight I really want to see the most."
St-Pierre, the man under the welterweight spotlight, is not thinking past the sharp-tongued fighter who will be waiting for him in the cage at the Bell Centre on Dec. 11.
"I don't worry because it's not now," St. Pierre said of a possible Shields matchup. "I worry about Koscheck, I don't worry about Shields.
Same for a possible Silva showdown, even if one assumes the Fertittas usually get what they want in the UFC.
"It's not in my head, because it's not an immediate fight," St-Pierre told The Canadian Press. "Saying that too early, that means you expect me to win against Koscheck and you're expecting him (Silva) to beat Vitor Belfort and me beat Jake Shields.
"Right now I'm not thinking about it."
Silva's dance card also includes a date with the winner of the UFC 122 main event between Nate (The Great) Marquardt and Japan's Yushin Okami.
St-Pierre didn't even see the Shields-Kampmann fight. He was at a friend's wedding.
"I don't really watch fights when I don't have to," the 29-year-old from Montreal explained.
St-Pierre (20-2) last fought in March, winning a lopsided decision over England's Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy.
His schedule has been interrupted by Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which is currently airing as part of the buildup to UFC 124. St-Pierre and Koscheck are rival coaches on the reality TV show, with the challenger doing his best to try to push the champion's buttons.
So far, St-Pierre has ignored the barbs and pranks. Koscheck (17-4) has not got under his skin, at least publicly.
"He's in my head for a good reason, because I'm getting ready to fight him," the Canadian fighter said.
St-Pierre says he continues training for Koscheck, bringing in some elite amateur wrestlers to help him during camp.
GSP won by decision the first time the two met, at UFC 74 in August 2007.
Koscheck is confident the rematch will go differently.
"1 down 1 to go dec 11th," he said in a tweet with an accompanying group photo with newly crowned heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, one of Koscheck's training partners at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose.