5thRound.com confirms the news of Shawn Tompkins leaving Xtreme Couture to join the TapouT Gyms.

5thRound.com has just learned that MMA guru Shawn Tompkins has officially left his post at the popular Xtreme Couture Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to our sources, Tompkins will be moving just down the street to join the new TapouT Gym in hopes of establishing his own footprint in MMA history.

For obvious reasons, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture’s name is synonymous with his Xtreme Couture camp, however it was Tompkins who handled the majority of the training sessions for the club’s best fighters.

Word on the street is that Tompkins decided to make the move in order to get out of the massive shadow that Couture casts. Regardless of what Tompkins accomplished inside Couture’s gym, it was Randy’s house and he got all the props.

Like every true competitor, Tompkins feels that it’s his time to show his mettle without the assistance of the MMA legend. It’s a risky move, however if you look at what he’s done to help build-up Xtreme Couture during his tenure there, it’s an understandable change.

Former champions like Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, as well as Couture himself, have worked extensively with Tompkins to improve their striking game.

In fact, Silva’s only W since returning to the Octagon was directly correlated to Tompkins’ involvement. Not only did he help the Brazilian train for his UFC 84 victory over Keith Jardine, but he was also in his corner come fight time.

Tompkins also has special relationships with Xtreme Couture lightweights Chris Horodecki, Sam Stout, and Mark Hominick, however there is no word if they intend on following their mentor to his new crib.

It was recently announced that Japanese superstar and UFC middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama would be moving his training to Xtreme Couture to work specifically with Tompkins, however with today’s annoucement it’s likely that he will join the blondie at TapouT Gym if he still intends to train in Sin City.

At this point in time, we are currently unable to confirm whether or not Tompkins and Couture had a falling out, but we do know that today is Tompkins’ last day at Xtreme Couture.

By Tom Ngo