FanHouse NickDiaz

After his UFC 106 victory over Anthony Johnson, Josh Koscheck proclaimed that he -- not Dan Hardy -- deserves to be the next contender to Georges St Pierre's title.

As you'll see in my rankings of the Top 10 welterweights in MMA, I think Koscheck is right -- sort of. I believe Koscheck deserves to be higher-ranked than Hardy, but I also think Hardy is more deserving of a shot at St. Pierre. The reason is simple: Koscheck has already had a fight with GSP, losing to him at UFC 74. Hardy hasn't gotten his chance yet.

So because I'd like to see GSP get a new challenge, I think Hardy is a fitting No. 1 contender, even though Hardy is just below Koscheck on the list below.

Little has been heard from Robbie Lawler since losing to Jake Shields at a Strikeforce event in June, but FanHouse has learned that the former EliteXC middleweight champion has been offered to return on Strirkeforce's December card. Lawler has verbally agreed to fight at the end of the year but no opponent has been finalized.

FanHouse has also learned that two opponents have been talked about to face Lawler: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Nick Diaz.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Please excuse Jay Hieron if he sounds a little annoyed -- the man just can't buy a break.

The former International Fight League welterweight champion has now been a part of two failed promotions and recently saw his Strikeforce title shot evaporate after Nick Diaz failed to show up for his pre-licensing drug test.

Hieron will now face Jesse Taylor on this Saturday's Strikeforce card on Showtime. FanHouse spoke to Hieron about dealing with all these changes and how he remains focused on his fighting career. The full video interview is below.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Nick Diaz's failure to show up for his pre-licensing drug test paved the way for Jesse Taylor to reacquaint himself with North American MMA fans. The controversial cast member on the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter has agreed to face Jay Hieron on five days' notice on this Saturday's Strikeforce card. The event airs live on Showtime.

"JT Money" is doing his best to erase the memory of his TUF 7 antics, as he's won his last seven fights in a row. On Saturday, he hopes to take one step closer towards a future Strikeforce title shot. FanHouse spoke to Taylor about prepping for Hieron and putting the past behind him. The full video interview is below.

Nick Diaz has signed a contract to box professionally in addition to his commitments in MMA with Strikeforce, longtime boxing promoter Don Chargin announced Thursday.

"When the subject of mixed martial arts versus boxing arises, it always comes down to the boxer winning a boxing match easily and vice versa for MMA," Chargin said in a release. "However, after having seen the replays of Diaz's fights over the course of his career, I truly believe that this kid has what it takes to really make for some very entertaining fights within boxing. While some would state that he's merely a slugger possessing a good chin and a heavy work rate, there's something about his rhythm and fighting intelligence that really caught my eye."

Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz engaged in a war of words prior to their April fight on Showtime. So, when we asked Shamrock on this week's edition of The MMA Hour (to be posted later this week on MMA FanHouse), about the California State Athletic Commission not granting Diaz a license to compete on this Saturday's Strikeforce card because he failed to show up for a pre-fight drug test, "The Legend" didn't hold back.

We also asked Shamrock about his current health status and whether he would ever fight in the UFC again. Some highlights of the interview are below.

Jesse Taylor, the controversial cast member from the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, will step in to fight Jay Hieron on five days notice after, according to Hieron's manager, Ken Pavia, Nick Diaz failed to show up for the second time to his pre-fight drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission. Pavia informed FanHouse of the news on Monday. He also stated that the fight has been changed to a three-round non-title fight.

Arguably the second-biggest draw on this Saturday's Strikeforce card, Nick Diaz, is now uncertain for his welterweight title fight against Jay Hieron.

The organization, Hieron and the California State Athletic commission have been placed in the awkward of position of waiting to see if Diaz will show up to take his pre-fight drug test. Diaz missed his appointment on Friday, but the CSAC has given him a deadline of 3 PM PT to take it.

British welterweight Paul "Semtex" Daley is still in negotiations with a number of promotions and a deal with the UFC has not yet been finalized, contrary to the reports Wednesday of a four-fight deal.

Another day, another report that we've lost a high-profile fighter who was scheduled for a high-profile fight: Joe Riggs, who was scheduled to fight Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight title, is reportedly out of the August 15 card. That's the second title fight Strikeforce has lost this week (heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem pulled out of his bout with Fabricio Werdum), and it comes the same week as the news that Josh Barnett can't fight Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction Trilogy.

That means neither Affliction nor Strikeforce is giving its fans nearly as good a card as they were told they were getting when they purchased tickets, ordered pay-per-view and subscribed to Showtime. So now Affliction and Strikeforce should do the right thing for themselves and for MMA fans: Combine their cards.