Dana White Says GSP Would Vacate Title & Move to 185lb Should He Beat Sheilds...So What does that mean for Penn/Fitch Winner?

UFC President Dana White has stated that he & current reigning 170lb champion Georges St. Pierre are comfortable that should he successfully defend his title against #1 contender & dangerous BJJ black belt Jake Sheilds, then the Welterweight kingpin would vacate his title to compete at 185lbs as a Middleweight & face champion Anderson Silva. Facts and technicalities are mixed as White has also announced that the winner of the upcoming UFC 127 170lb Main Event between 2x Champion BJ Penn & long time contender Jon Fitch would become the #1 contender for the title.

Should GSP win and vacate his title, that would mean Jake Shields would have to lose. If GSP were to vacate the title, then the division would be without a champion. Would the winner of Penn/Fitch be automatically crowned the new champion following a GSP victory? Or will a new title fight be arranged similar to when Penn fought Joe Stevenson for the vacant 155lb title after Sean Sherk was stripped of it? If the latter is the case, then who would be the second fighter to contest for the title? Depending on hiwws probable method of defeat, Shields may be offered the title fight again to face the winner of Penn/Fitch for the title.Would this be justified?

Should Shields lose and possibly be offered a second title shot, which match up would be more interesting? Penn is once again known for his KO power after his best-out-of-three win over fellow former champ Matt Hughes at UFC 123, and is well known  as The Prodigy being a record holder for becoming one of the fastest people, especially as an American, to earn a black belt in BJJ. Fitch on the other hand has been seen as a mirror image of GSP in technique and performance ever since his loss to the champion in 2008 at UFC 87, as he followed his only loss in the UFC with five consecutive Unanimous Decision wins. Either match up would put Shields, or whom ever the UFC decides to put in this bout, against a top veteran in one of the most stacked divisions in the sport.

A lot rides on the line just on this one match as the most important bout in both GSP's & Shields' career with great potential to follow. With a win for GSP, he would have successfully defended his title for the sixth consecutive time along with breaking the record for most consecutive title defenses as UFC 170lb champion, and will relieve himself of his long held title to seek new competition in the division just above his own. With a win for Shields, he would be next to Anderson Silva as having won a UFC title in only his second bout under the UFC banner, he would become the second fighter to pull an upset over GSP in a title bout along with being only the third fighter to hold a victory over him, and would face top competition in either Penn or Fitch; or even an automatic rematch between him & GSP.

So much rides on this one bout, so much that their is no doubt the atmosphere will be thick with anticipation just for the weigh ins alone for this event.