Jon Fitch will defend his WSOF welterweight title against Jake Shields on Nov. 12 in Loveland, Colorado.

WSOF president Ray Sefo revealed the matchup to ESPN on Tuesday. The event will take place inside Budweiser Events Center and air on NBC Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The 170-pound matchup was discussed earlier this year, but Shields pulled out of negotiations due to a contract dispute. According to Sefo, Shields (31-8-1) recently signed a new four-fight deal.

"Just like any contract negotiation, it went back and forth, and we settled on something everyone was very happy with," Sefo said. "Jake is a great guy. One thing we needed to work out were the grappling tournaments he wishes to compete in. We wanted to give him that freedom. We were happy with the deal. Jake is happy.

"This matchup is long overdue. You have two great guys, great names in the sport. They're icons. We're happy we could put this match together."

Shields was not immediately available to comment on the new contract.

Sefo acknowledged the event falls on the same date as a highly anticipated UFC 205 pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden, the promotion's first trip to New York since 1995. Sefo said the Nov. 12 date had long been in place for WSOF.

"We have our dates laid out, and this one was set," Sefo said. "We didn't know New York was going to pass MMA, and in reality, this is hard to avoid. The UFC has a show every week, sometimes twice a week. We already have dates in place for 2017."

A former UFC veteran, Fitch (28-7-1) claimed the WSOF vacant title by defeating Joao Zeferino via unanimous decision in April. The 38-year-old has fought the likes of Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves, Johny Hendricks, Demian Maia and Yushin Okami. He is 4-1 in his past five fights.

Shields, 37, is a former Strikeforce middleweight champion and UFC welterweight title challenger. He has not fought since a controversial submission loss to Rousimar Palhares in August 2015. Shields accused Palhares of holding a kimura submission too long, as well as repeatedly gouging his eyes in the contest. Palhares received a two-year suspension in Nevada for holding his actions in that fight.