The event features a main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship.  The co-main event will mark the UFC debut of former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields, as he takes on Martin Kampmann.

“Throughout fighting history, there has never been a Mexican heavyweight champion, but at UFC 121, Cain Velasquez will try to make history and become the first,” UFC President Dana White said. “To do that though, he must defeat the baddest man on the planet, UFC heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Also, fresh off his destruction of Dan Henderson, Jake Shields enters the UFC, and he’s got his sights set on the welterweight title, but he’s got to get by Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann first.”

Matchups also set for the main card includes Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago, Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill, and Brendan Schaub vs. Gabriel Gonzaga.

Tickets for UFC 121 will go on sale Saturday, August 21 at noon PT.

UFC 121 will be broadcast live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.

Lesnar confirmed the matchup via his Twitter page.  The event is expected to take place on October 23 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Lesnar is coming off his most impressive victory to-date, coming back from a first round beatdown at the hands of Shane Carwin to secure an arm triangle submission victory in the 2nd.

The bout was only his sixth professional fight, pushing his overall record to 5-1.

Velasquez, meanwhile, remains unbeaten at 8-0.  Training out of American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, Velasquez cemented his status as no.1 contender with a devastating first round TKO of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 in February. 

He also holds notable wins over Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell.

UFC 121 will be broadcast live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.

Unbeaten at 8-0, Velasquez has risen through the UFC heavyweight ranks with six victories, including a devastating first round knockout of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in his last outing at UFC 110.

Velasquez has stated on his official Twitter page that he will attending UFC 116 and will face-off in the cage with either Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin.

Though a date has not been set, Velasquez’ title shot will likely come sometime later this year.

UFC 116, featuring a UFC heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, takes place this Saturday, July 3 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Velasquez stated as much on his official Twitter page  over the weekend saying that the title fight would be his next matchup.  Though UFC officials have not confirmed the news, UFC President Dana White made similar remarks following UFC 111 when it was announced Carwin would face Lesnar.

“Cain’s waiting in the wings now,” White stated. “Cain’s probably going to wait for the next shot.”

Velasquez is 8-0 as a professional with 6 of those wins coming inside the Octagon.  The American Kickboxing Academy product has looked better in each of his outings, most recently defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by devastating knockout at UFC 110.

Lesnar and Carwin will do battle on July 3 at UFC 116 for the UFC heavyweight championship.

Main event participant Cain Velasquez stunned the crowd with a devastating first round knockout of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, placing himself atop the heavyweight division as well as “Knockout of the Night” honors.

Taking home “Fight of the Night,” Joe Stevenson and George Sotiropoulos put on a deft display of grappling which Sotiropoulos ultimately got the best of, getting the unanimous decision victory in front of his hometown crowd.

UFC veteran Chris Lytle came away with the “Submission of the Night,” locking up a beautiful kneebar on Brian Foster, forcing the H.I.T. Squad member to tapout at 1:41 in the first round.

As previously reported, the event will be headlined with a heavyweight matchup between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez.  Both men are coming off recent victories; Nogueira defeated Randy Couture at UFC 102 in August, while Velasquez dropped Ben Rothwell at UFC 104.

In a co-main event battle, Michael Bisping will face Wanderlei Silva.  It will mark Silva’s debut at 185lbs and his first fight since his June loss to Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195lbs.  

Bisping is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Denis Kang at last month’s UFC 105. It was a crucial win for the Brit after being knocked out by Dan Henderson at UFC 100.

Also confirmed for the main card is a lightweight matchup between Joe Stevenson and George Sotiropoulos, Keith Jardine vs. Ryan Bader, and Mirko Cro Cop vs. Ben Rothwell.

Set for the undercard is an all-Aussie bout between Elvis Sinosic and Chris Haseman.  Further undercard bouts will be announced shortly.

UFC 110 takes place at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia on February 21, 2010.

The event will be held at the Acer Arena in Sydney, the largest city in Australia.

“We cannot wait to get to Sydney for UFC 110,” stated UFC president Dana White. “The Aussies love their sport so, when we first bought the UFC nine years ago, we knew Australia was one of the places we needed to get to with live fights.

“We will be bringing some of the biggest names in the world to Sydney plus be giving top Australian mixed martial artists the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a home crowd.”

Though no bouts have been officially announced, UFC 110 is likely to be headlined with a heavyweight matchup between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez.

Both men are coming off recent victories; Nogueira defeated Randy Couture at UFC 102 in August, while Velasquez dropped Ben Rothwell at UFC 104.

Also rumored to be on the card is a middleweight showdown between Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping. It would mark Silva’s debut at 185lbs and his first fight since his June loss to Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195lbs.

Bisping is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Denis Kang at last month’s UFC 105. It was a crucial win for the Brit after being knocked out by Dan Henderson at UFC 100.

UFC 110 will be broadcast on pay-per-view. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, December 11th.

Velasquez is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Octagon, while Nogueira is coming off one of the best fights of the year, defeating Randy Couture by unanimous decision at UFC 102.

“Nogueira vs. Velasquez is a great matchup between the present and the future of the heavyweight division,” said UFC President Dana White. “Nogueira showed in the Couture fight that he still has plenty left to offer at the top level of the game, and Velasquez was devastating in his win over Ben Rothwell, so with both guys in top form, we’re definitely going to see a number one contender emerge from this fight to take on the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin title fight.”

Also announced is a light heavyweight fight between former champion Rashad Evans and Brazilian striker Thiago Silva.  Evans, currently a coach on this season’s The Ultimate Fighter, hasn’t fought for the organization since losing to Loyto Machida in May.

“Thiago’s a hard puncher and a very good fighter, and I respect him,” said Evans. “But I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to get a little payback for Keith on January 2nd.”

Silva knocked out Evans’ friend and training partner Keith Jardine at UFC 102 in August.  It was his fifth victory in the Octagon, with his only defeat coming at the hands of current champion Lyoto Machida.

Tickets for UFC 108 go on sale Saturday, November 14th, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster or www.ufc.com.

UFC 108 takes place on January 2nd from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.

Velasquez had been rumored to take on the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin, but due to the uncertainty of that matchup he will now face Nogueira with the winner likely to fight for the title.

Velasquez is undefeated at 7-0 with five of those victories coming inside the Octagon. He has finished all but one of his fights by TKO, with a unanimous decision victory over Cheick Kongo his only fight to go the distance.

Nogueira is coming off one of the best fights of the year, defeating Randy Couture by unanimous decision at UFC 102. Despite a TKO defeat to Frank Mir last December, Nogueira remains a top contender in the heavyweight division. A victory over the highly-touted Velasquez would undoubtedly cement his place as the number one contender.

Though no bouts have been made official by the UFC, 108 is likely to be headlined by current TUF coach Rashad Evans as he takes on Thiago Silva.

UFC 108 is scheduled for January 2nd, taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Velasquez will be joining Alicia Keys and Eva Longoria to salute the very best in Latin Music.

The 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards show will be broadcast tonight on the Univision network beginning at 8pm EST.