(George Galanis is a BPL Citizen Journalist)

George Sotiropoulos first caught the attention of the fight community as a participant on the sixth series of The Ultimate Fighter as a member of Team Serra. The Australian native quickly became the favourite to be crowned the next winner of the reality show.

On The Ultimate Fighter, Sotiropoulos displayed his tireless work ethic and impressive skill-set, especially in his groundwork, to a worldwide viewing audience.

Sotiropoulos defeated two opponents in his quest for the six-figure UFC contract but came up short in his semi-final bout with Tommy Speer following an accidental thumb to the eye.

His dream of becoming The Ultimate Fighter may not have come true, but he did get his chance to prove himself in the octagon when he faced fellow season-six cast member, Billy Miles.

Sotiropoulos disposed of the Team Hughes member in a little over 90 seconds of the first round, which was enough for him to get an invitation back to the big show.

Shortly after, Sotiropoulos was injured, and forced out of two scheduled bouts against Karo Parisyan and Matt Grice.

After eighteen months off, he decided to compete at lightweight.

In his first two bouts at 155lbs (70.5kgs), the Australian put his jiu-jitsu skills on display submitting George Roop and Jason Dent. All this led to the biggest fight of his career to date.

The stage was set. Sotiropoulos had the chance to compete in front of his home country crowd against a former top contender for the lightweight title, but many doubted the chances of Sotiropoulos winning his bout against Joe "Daddy" Stevenson.

Sotiropoulos shocked the entire world - but not Australian MMA fans - with his dominant victory over Stevenson. The win earned him fight of the night honours and put him right into the title mix. He followed it up with a narrow win over Kurt Pellegrino this past July.

It is widely believed that Sotiropoulos will be next in line for the winner of the rematch between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar rumoured to take place later this year.

However numerous sources have reported that Sotiropoulos will square off against Joe Lauzon at the yet to be announced UFC 123 event to take place at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan on 23 November 2010.

Lauzon is coming off one of the most dominant victories in recent memory with a submission win over Gabe Ruediger.

The UFC is expecting to return to the homeland of Sotiropoulos in February of 2011 so if successful in November it is possible that Sotiropoulos could get his chance to capture the title in Australia.

Sotiropoulos is a better-rounded combatant. He has a better boxing and jiu-jitsu game, but Lauzon - who has won eight of his last 10 bouts - is not someone to be taken lightly.