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Daniel Gracie, the cousin of Renzo and Roger Gracie, woke up one morning and knew it was time to return to MMA.

His last fight -- a loss to to Allan Goes in the now-defunct IFL -- took place in November 2006. Since then, the 38-year has remained active as a jiu-jitsu instructor, most recently taking over the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Stamford, CT.

But when Gracie stopped by The MMA Hour on Monday, he announced that his time away from MMA was coming to an end later this year.

"I can't just watch it. I was getting cranky because I wasn't fighting. Actually, I decided to take a little while from MMA because my English was terrible. I could talk but not teach jiu-jitsu, so I said, I have to learn to teach in English, because I know that my future is going to be having a jiu-jitsu school and teaching jiu-jitsu."

Ken Shamrock's next fight has been signed and it will be against Johnathan Ivey for the USA MMA promotion on Oct. 16 in Lafayette, La.

MMAFighting.com learned Wednesday from sources close to the event the Shamrock vs. Ivey headliner as well as the co-main event, Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Perez.

Leading up to UFC 118, James Toney told anyone who wanted to listen that he asked to fight Kimbo Slice (after his first request of facing Brock Lesnar was turned down) in his Octagon debut. Unfortunately for him, the organization had different plans and matched the boxing champion against Randy Couture.

You all know how that turned out for "Lights Out."

But when Slice stopped by Monday's edition of The MMA Hour, he said he had never been offered a fight against Toney, but was certainly open to the idea.

"I never heard anything about me fighting James Toney, but you know, like I said, again, I'll fight anybody, man. C'mon, everybody knows that about me from my street-fighting days. Put anybody in front of me, train me to be the best, I'll fight the best. That's one thing about Kimbo Slice that everybody knows."

UFC 123 is headed to Auburn Hills, Michigan.

That's the word from UFC president Dana White, who told MMA Fighting that the finalization of a deal to bring the Nov. 20 event to The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburb closed on Wednesday morning.

Contrary to published reports and the fighter's own Twitter account, Jay Hieron has not yet secured his release from Strikeforce.

The fighter recently told MMA Fighting that the two sides are still speaking, but he's looking forward, not backward.

"I jumped the gun. We're working on it," said Hieron, who was in Boston last weekend to help teammate Randy Couture finish preparations in facing James Toney at UFC 118. "Strikeforce is a good organization. I've had a good time fighting for them but I'm looking to the future. We haven't cut ties yet. We're working on a few things. But I'm in the gym every day and I'm definitely going to fight again in 2010."

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming back to Montreal, and the event will be headlined by the most famous Canadian in the sport.

Georges St-Pierre's title defense against Josh Koscheck will take place on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Monday.

UFC 124 will happen at the end of the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which premieres on Spike TV on Sept. 15. St-Pierre and Koscheck will serve as opposing coaches on the show.

UFC president Dana White saw Kenny Florian's loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 118 on Saturday night as yet another sign that Florian cracks under the pressure of the big fights, falling short just as he's about to reach the top.

But to hear Florian tell it, the defeat was far more physical than mental.

"I take what Dana said as a compliment because I think he really believes in my skills as a fighter," Florian told MMA Fighting via email Monday morning. "I was capable of winning the fight but I would have to have fought a very boring fight. I felt great mentally & physically. I have more work to do on my wrestling & have already made the arrangements to become much better in that area of my game."

It's not the first time White has taken aim at Florian's mental game. After his loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 101, White accussed Florian of being less aggressive in title fights, suggesting he had some sort of "mental block" when a belt was on the line.

On this week's live edition of The MMA Hour, we will first be joined in studio by Daniel Gracie. The former PRIDE FC and IFL fighter will talk about his MMA comeback and what he has been up to since he last competed in 2006.

We will then be joined by Nate Marquardt, who faces Rousimar Palhares at UFN 22 on Sept. 15.

Matt Mitrione, who is scheduled to face Joey Beltran, will also stop by to talk about that fight and his progression as an MMA fighter.

Kimbo Slice will also stop by to talk about his decision to enter the world of boxing and his MMA future.

Frankie Edgar, who defeated BJ Penn for the second time last Saturday, is also on tap as a late addition to the show.

Finally, we will recap UFC 118 with our own Mike Chiappetta and, of course, take your calls.

Download this show and previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here.

BOSTON -- MMA Fighting caught up with Dana White following Saturday's UFC 118 event.

White talked about Randy Couture's dominant win over James Toney and why this is the end of Toney's career, why Frankie Edgar deserves more respect and why he believes Kenny Florian doesn't perform well under pressure.

Check out the video interview below.

BOSTON -- Gray Maynard secured his spot as the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division with his win over Kenny Florian at UFC 118.

MMA Fighting spoke to Maynard about his performance, finally getting a title shot and why he feels like he is ready to make a serious run as champion.

Check out the video interview below.

BOSTON -- Joe Lauzon may have produced the most impressive performance at UFC 118 when he dominated Gabe Ruediger en route to a first round submission win.

The hometown favorite spoke to MMA Fighting following the win about his performance, feeding off the crowd and why this win puts him back on track in his career.

Check out the video interview below.

BOSTON -- NBA star Shaquille O'Neal made his first public appearance in Boston this weekend since signing with the Celtics this summer.

MMA Fighting caught up with O'Neal during Saturday's UFC 118 event to talk about his love of all things MMA and his plans to fight "The Techno Goliath."

Check out the video below.