FanHouse Jon Fitch

The UFC is targeting a March 2010 date for welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre's title defense with No. 1 contender Dan Hardy, a source with knowledge of the situation told FanHouse.

Once formally agreed to by both sides, the matchup would likely be the main event of UFC 111, which is expected to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The 28-year-old St. Pierre (19-2) is one of MMA's hottest commodities after signing major sponsorship deals with Gatorade and Under Armour within the last year. He has been out of action since injuring his groin during the course of a successful defense against Thiago Alves at July's UFC 100.

It wasn't long after Anderson Silva beat Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 before the inevitable chatter began anew. Would Silva move up to light heavyweight full-time? Would he perhaps vacate his middleweight belt? And would he ever agree to fight his close friend and training partner, 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida?

While Silva and his manager Ed Soares say that Silva "wants to be in the biggest fights" whether at 185 or 205, they also say that he would never take place in what could be the biggest: a champion vs. champion matchup against Machida.

The friend vs. friend debate is nothing new in MMA. After all, there are only so many top-notch camps producing world-class talent. But it is a topic that needs to be revisited.