“I’m ready to get in there and show everyone who the champ is,” Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-2-1) told Fighters.com Thursday from the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis.

At UFC 73 last July, then UFC Lightweight Champ Sherk defended his title by unanimous decision over Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked lightweight Hermes Franca (18-6).

In the post-fight drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission, Sherk tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid that occurs naturally in the human body in small amounts.

After a lie detector test (which Sherk passed) and hearing, Sherk’s one-year suspension was reduced to six months and the UFC stripped him of the 155-pound title.

“Redemption,” Sherk described his UFC 84 match-up with current UFC Champ and fourth-ranked “Prodigy” BJ Penn (12-4-1).  “I got my belt taken away for something I didn’t do.  Beating one of the best guys in the world is a big part of it, too.”

Many critics contend Sherk shouldn’t be the top contender coming off his suspension.

“As the facts unfolded,” Sherk explained, “[UFC President Dana White] realized that I was telling the truth and he saw how the commission handled my case.  So, with all that he felt that it was very important that I come back in as the number one contender.

“Realistically, me and BJ have been on track to fight for a long time.  It’s a dream match-up.  We’ve both been on top of the game for a long time; so, this is a great fight not only for us but for the fans.”

When the UFC began, the question was: Which combat style is most dominant?  Sherk versus Penn, wrestler versus jiu-jitsu player, harkins back to those beginnings.

“Obviously, my wrestling is better than his wrestling and his jiu-jitsu is better than my jiu-jitsu,” Sherk claimed, but, “We are both mixed martial arts fighters.  This fight is the fight that people are going to see all my attributes.”

Sherk has weathered seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian’s (9-3) sharp elbows, Francas knees, and lasted the distance against fifth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes’s (42-6) wrestling, not to mention training under Pedro Sauer black belt Greg Nelson.

Sherk sized-up that Penn has “got some tricks; and, I’ve got some tricks to that he hasn’t seen before.  It’s going to come down to who executes their game plan best.”

He believes, “BJ wants to get in there and win this one early.  He’s got to know that a conditioning battle isn’t a good battle for him.  So, I expect him to come out strong.

“I think that he’s going to be in better shape for this fight [than his last fight versus "Daddy" Joe Stevenson (28-8)]; but, Stevenson didn’t push him the way I’m going to push him.  I’m going to test him.  I’m going to try to push this thing as fast and hard as I can and see where his conditioning is.”

Penn isn’t known for being reserved.  The Hawaiian has mocked Sherk’s suspension, steroid allegations, and even his size.

Sherk said, “That’s just his personality.   I think he wants to hate people.  Maybe it motivates him.  And he wants to get into my head.  A lot of people that fight BJ buy into the hype: ‘Ooo, he’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.  He’s the first American to win the BJJ Worlds.’  Big deal!  I don’t care about any of that.  Take away his flexibility and he’s just like any other guy I’ve fought.  I don’t buy into the hype.”

Through the last tough ten months, Sherk has been thankful for his true fans.

“The people that have stood by my through the hard times, that’s when you find out who your real fans are,” Sherk confided.  “Minnesota Marital Arts Academy and all my sponsors that stood by me: Island Supplements, MMA Overload, MTX Audio, Warrior Wear, and Affliction.”

In the end, it’s all about one thing Sean said, “I could have had a warm-up fight, didn’t feel like I needed it.  I want to get back in there.  I want to get this belt back and just want to get my career back on track.”

“Lion” Ryan Schultz (20-9-1) defended his IFL lightweight title in a five-round unanimous decision “W” over tough Lithuanian Deividas Taurosevicius (9-3).

Middleweight Dan Miller (8-1) blew through IFL Middleweight Champion Ryan McGivern (12-6).  At 3:36 of round one, Miller sucked up McGivern’s right leg in a kneebar to tap the champ and take his strap.

On the undercard at the Mohegan Sun, “Indio” Danillo Villefort (7-2) tapped middleweight Mike Massenzio in a kneebar at 3:25 of round one.

Jorge Gurgel-trained lightweight “Pitbull” Josh Souder (7-2) dispatched Zac George (12-3) by TKO in 47 seconds.

Middleweight “Suave” Matt Horwich (23-10) won a unanimous decision over “Coyote” Joey Guel (13-6).

Welterweight “Doomsday” John Howard (9-3) TKO’d Nick Calandrino (4-1) at 2:24 of round three.

Light heavyweight Aaron Stark (6-4) won a unanimous decision over “Philly Bad Ass” Lamont Lister (4-4), fresh off his win at YAMMA Pit Fighting.

Lightweight John Franchi (4-0) remained undefeated tapping Frank Latina (4-2) in a rear naked choke at 2:19 of round one.

The card’s main event between welterweight champion “Slam” Aaron Wetherspoon (7-2) and challenger Anthony Lapsley (11-3) was one of the false starts.

Top super heavyweight contender “Rhino” Mike Bourke’s (8-11-1) match-up versus “King of the Streets” Chance Williams (6-2) never had a chance, also ending in a No Contest.

In the match-ups that actually got off, top 205-pound contender “Kryptonite” Tony Lopez (8-2) submitted Joey Beltran (4-2) by Kimura at 3:15 of the first round.

Donald Sanchez (11-7) TKO’d William Sriyrapai (10-4) at 3:41 of round two to climb into the lightweight rankings.

Lightweight “Dynamite” Gregg Dalton (5-2) exploded on Dave Rivas (8-7-1) for a second round knockout at 3:41.

“Insane” Georgi Karakhanyan (5-1-1) won a unanimous decision over “Mando” Armando Sanchez at lightweight.

Light heavyweight Ben Fuimaono (2-1) tapped lanky kickboxer Miguel Cosio (1-5) in an armbar at 2:11 of round two.

Daniel Hernandez (2-3) scored a first round TKO of Daniel Mancha at 1:10.

When middleweight Kalib Starnes (8-3-1) was being derided as a coward after losing to “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2) last month, I took his word that he broke his foot early in the fight, tried to look at the fight through his eyes, and posted the best defense I could.

Fighters deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Wednesday, The Pit boss John Hackleman told Fight Hype, “I talked to the coach at ATT (American Top Team) and they kicked [Kalib Starnes] off.”

Again, I gave Starnes the benefit of the doubt and, as Fighters.com always does, sought his side of the claim.

Starnes told me, “Nobody from American Top Team has contacted me and said any such thing.  What kind of team would turn on you for losing a fight?  Do you think it would be reasonable for them to kick me off of the team for losing?  If they were the type of team who would drop you because you lost a fight or had some bad press, I wouldn’t want to be there anyway!”

Fine.

American Top Team didn’t respond to my request for confirmation.

Someone needs to tell Starnes when he’s said enough.

Starnes continued, “If the same people that elected George W. Bush twice and made Britney Spears the most searched name on the Internet think that I’m not a good fighter or a good person because I lost a match, well, I guess that I’ll just have to live with that.”

Huh?  Is that a poke at Americans?

Whether or not you like G-Dub or Britney Spears, it was Starnes’s fellow Canadians that booed him out of the Octagon, though I’m sure Americans would’ve been content to do the same.

That’s not even reasonable.

CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights will be the North American broadcast television unveiling of our sport.

“This is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front of a potential audience of 100-million plus eyeballs,” said EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, also on Thursday.

“I think it sucks,” White concluded.  “Kimbo Slice isn’t a mixed martial arists.  This is a guy who was fighting in your back yard three months ago.  Now he’s headlining on CBS.”

For those behind White, the argument runs: MMA has gone from groin strikes to Unified Rules since UFC 1, from Kevin Rosier (2-6) to “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Kimbo Slice erases the last 15 years of the sport’s evolution.

How many years does Brock Lesnar (1-1) erase?  At least 12, back to the beginning of the powerful Hammer House era.

Lesnar headlines the UFC’s August card in Minneapolis versus Hammer House’s original “Hammer” Mark Coleman (15-8).

But, an argument that either Slice or Lesnar is going to convince the mainstream that MMA peaked in 1996 is misguided.

That’s what they already think.

We’re blinded inside the MMA bubble to the reality that Slice and Lesnar still represent what the mainstream thinks MMA is.

A backyard brawler or former pro wrestler sell tickets and PPV buys because that’s still the mainstream expectation of MMA.

Despite the last three years of North America  MMA eruption, the mainstream still considers MMA a blood-thirsty, no-holds-barred duel of brutes.

Few minds will be changed, but continued mainstream ignorance may be encouraged.  There’s still so many to educate about the sport.

Notes From Around MMA

* Last Wednesday on TAGG radio, “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) became the latest UFC fighter to complain about his compensation, saying, “It’s kind of sad, you know, when the company comes out on the cover of Forbes, and then you definitely just know where all the money is going to. It’s kind of like, ‘What the hell?’”

* TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor (6-2) told the North County Times, “”Let’s just say I’m undefeated so far,” about his record on the SpikeTV reality competition show.

* When asked by Eastside Boxing what his most satisfying moment was, “Stitch” Jacob Duran said, “For MMA the most satisfying moment came during the Forrest Griffin/Mauricio Rua fight.  I was working Forrest’s corner during this fight when he received a lightning bolt gash on the center of his forehead.  It was a really bad cut and the fight was close to being stopped.  I managed to get it under control for about four minutes, and Forrest went out and submitted Rua.”  Fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4) thanked Duran with a card and gift certificate to an upscale restaurant.

* “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) is urging UFC President Dana White to make a fight between UFC Welterweight Champion St. Pierre and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4), the top-ranked welterweight and middleweight respectively.  “If Dana can make that fight, I’ll be in the line to buy a ticket,” Silva told Yahoo!Sports.

* “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1) was discharged from the South Korean military two days after reporting for mandatory service.  Officials cited Choi’s brain tumor pressing against his optic nerve as the reason for his dismissal.

As recently as March, White had left open the possibility that Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked light heavyweight ”Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz (15-5-1) would return to the big show.

“Even with all the issues I’ve had with that moron, he’s still in the UFC.  We’ll see what happens,” White told MMA Weekly after UFC 82 in Columbus.

In an interview published at MMA Rated Thursday morning, Ortiz also left open a slight possibility of returning to the UFC, “You know what it really comes down to is just Dana White.  If he learns to shut his mouth and learns to respect me there is a possibility yet.”

But by Thursday afternoon, White seemed to have made up his mind.

“Tito is a fucking idiot.  He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever met.  Everything that comes out of his mouth makes no sense,” White said.

The consummate promoter even broke the the promoter’s number one rule and down-played Ortiz’s fight with third-ranked “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (12-0): “I put up with his shit when he was a good fighter; but, he’s not anymore.”

(Which begs the question: If Ortiz beats Machida 24 May in Las Vegas, where does that leave Machida?)

Ortiz told MMA Rated, “I respect [UFC co-owner] Lorenzo [Fertitta] a whole lot.  He is a great person.  He has helped me out a lot from the very beginning when he first bought the company and I think what they thought I was worth was not anything close to what I thought I was worth and, once again, it was just Dana trying to undercut me.”

White shot back, “After Tito wrecked his car, it wasn’t Lorenzo who brought him back into the UFC.  It was me.”

Ortiz isn’t satisfied with his UFC 84 opponent, Machida.  “I thought that the rematch with Rashad Evans was supposed to happen,” Ortiz told MMA Rated.  “Ask Dana [why the rematch never materialized].”

Last November, White claimed he offered Ortiz the rematch with “Sugar” Rashad Evans (11-0-1), but Ortiz turned it down in order to appear on the Fox reality series The Celebrity Apprentice.

In an EliteXC press conference curiously held at the same time Thursday as the UFC’s, ProElite Live Events President Gary Shaw weighed in, “Every time I see Tito Ortiz, he reeks of stardom.  I think I can even better his days in the UFC.  I think I can reincarnate Ortiz.  He is a talented fighter, and he has all the mechanisms that you need to make someone a superstar.”

Ortiz told MMA Rated, “I see [EliteXC] as a strong company. Of course, Mark Cuban has another strong company.”

In April, second-ranked “Ace” Rick Franklin (23-3) finessed out of an armbar executed by TUF champ “Serial Killer” Travis Lutter (9-5) to pick apart the Texan in two rounds, but Franklin has no where to go after two stoppages to Silva.

As mentioned in 3 May’s Bushido Sheet, Franklin was offered a main event versus tenth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7) at UFC 85, but turned down the fight.

Franklin continues to consider interesting match-ups at 205-pounds.

Hendo’ dropped a rank in May after his 2006 UD over eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) fell from his two-year record leaving “Hollywood” without a win at 185-pounds in two years.

His March stoppage to Silva leaves him with few good match-ups but for Franklin.  At this point, Hendo’ just needs a win in the Octagon.

The trail on the “Hitman” Misaki has gone cold since his March submission of Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at Sengoku.

Third-ranked “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0) is recovering from a substance abuse problem in Brazil.

He’s scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) to defend his WEC title, but don’t hold your breath for a Silva versus Filho title unification bout.

Filho and Silva are friends and refuse to fight each other; and, Filho plans to move to 205-pounds win, lose, or draw to Sonnen.

Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama’s (10-1) run at the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix championship ended before it began when he re-injured a nasal bone fracture in training, causing him to withdraw.

Fifth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4) remains the most likely candidate to take a swat at “Spider”, but no official word yet.

Sixth-ranked “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) may be the face of the division when his EliteXC title defense versus “Hands of Stone” Scott Smith (13-4) is broadcast on national television across North America at the end of May.

Ninth-ranked “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5) debuted before the Nipponese in May with a first-round TKO of Katsuyori Shibata (2-4), but the “W” does little to propel him forward in the division.

May Middleweight Rankings

1. “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4)

“Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger.

2. “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3)

Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July.

3. “Ely” Paulo Filho (16-0)

Filho’s perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking.

4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1)

The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback.

5. “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4)

Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes.

6. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4)

“Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses.

7. “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6)

With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch.

8. “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2)

Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1.

9. “Mayhem” Jason Miller (21-5)

Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years.

10. “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7)

“Hollywood” served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn’t follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit.

Greater Omaha fight fans can enjoy a fantastic line-up of local MMA amies, meet the Fighters.com girls, and win one of two iPod nanos, an autographed copy of Made in America by Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (42-6), or the newest rage in MMA apparel, the official Fighters.com t-shirt.

Doors open at 7:00 PM, fights start at 8:00 PM.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $25 at ring side, and $200 for a ring side table with seating for ten.  Call (402) 813-8169 for tickets.

Chez Paree is located at 1301 Locust Street in Carter Lake, Iowa.

Fighters.com is dedicated to supporting fighters, whether sponsoring an amateur card in Omaha or the Xtreme Couture 5k in Las Vegas.

Team Jackson drafted Gerald Harris (6-2) to face Team Forrest’s Amir Sadollah (0-0) in what Rampage dubbed “the classis wrassler” versus kickboxer match-up.

Rampage was high on Harris, with whom he shares fight styles.  They like to slam opponents and pound them.

Fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4) had questions about Amir’s confidence before the match.

 Gerald Harris (6-2) v Amir Sadollah (0-0)

Ding, ding!  Harris immediately shot in and drove Sadollah to the fence for a double-leg takedown.

From Amir’s half-guard, Harris landed a few punches and short elbows.  Amir controlled his posture to minimize the damage.

Sadollah was able to stand back up and Harris clinched him up looking for another takedown.  Again, Harris brutally slammed Amir like a child.

After some light G’n’P, Gerald once again slammed Amir and fought from Sadollah’s open guard.

Working to their feet again, Amir threw a big knee, but missed, setting up Gerald for the low single.  Gerald grabbed on to Amir’s leg; but, Amir managed to reverse the position before Gerald could take him down.

Amir was trying to get Harris in the crucifix position, popping Harris with two elbows to the body in the process.  Gerald escaped as Amir tried to take his back and Harris drove Sadollah against the fence to finish the round.

Amir began round two determined to keep his feet.  He connected with a couple of sharp leg kicks before Harris pushed him against the fence again for the takedown.

From the top, Gerald landed a wide-arcing elbow before standing again.

Amir, who had been getting dominated to this point, responded with a knee that looked like it stunned Harris.  Gerald looked immediately for another takedown and shot in low, grabbing Amir’s leg near the ankle.

Refusing to the let go of the leg, Gerald eats a few body shots from Amir, who tries to take his back.  Harris escaped the ensuing scramble and took Amir down against the fence.

The fighters stand back up; and, Amir, sensing defeat landed a right knee to the jaw of Harris that dropped him for a flash knockout.

Harris turtled-up and grabbed Amir’s leg instinctually.  Sadollah threw a few punches before the referee stopped the fight.

Winner by technical knockout: Amir Sadollah

Rampage was depressed because Gerald was one of his favorites.  Harris was crushed and enraged.  Neither had time to lament on the loss as the final fight pairings for the first round were quickly named.

Team Forrest selected Cale Yarbrough (0-0) to face Team Rampage’s replacement fighter, Patrick Schultz (5-1-1), leaving Team Forrest’s Nick Klein (3-0) versus Team Rampage’s top pick, CB Dollaway (6-0)

Both Yarbrough and Schultz are stand-up specialists and make a “no jiu-jitsu” truce. 

Forrest said Yarbrough could beat anyone in the house as long as they stayed away from “that hippie stuff”, referring to wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Patrick said he was looking forward to having a kickboxing match ending in a knockout.

Cale Yarbrough (0-0) v Patrick Schultz (5-1-1)

Early on, the fight between Yarbrough and Schultz looked exactly as hyped.  Yarbrough threw a high kick that Schultz caught and used to send him to the mat; but, Schultz allowed Cale to stand right back up.  They wanted to bang!  The boxing match continued and Schultz was effectively working his jab, mixing in a few power punches.

Both men were content to strike and neither would capitalize on the many openings for takedowns.  Schultz appeared to have a more technical boxing game and was getting the best of the stand-up.

Finally, with 1:45 left in the round, Cale realized he was getting picked apart.  He shot in for a double-leg takedown and, with no defense from Schultz, got in Schultz’s guard, pounding him with hammer fists.

After about a minute, the fighters stood and Cale scored another easy takedown, ending the round with some light G’n’P inside Schultz’s guard.

Fighters.com scored this round 10-9 for Schultz.

Schultz, looking gassed, wanted no part of the ground game.  He came out swinging to start the second round.

Cale got another takedown into Schultz’s half-guard.  The fight stayed on the mat the entire round; and, Yarbrough was dominant.  He connected with punches and a few elbows while keeping Schultz’s back on the mat.

Cale looked like he was getting stronger and gaining confidence as the round wore on.

Schultz, however, was gassed out.  He wasn’t trying to escape, just trying to avoid the stoppage.

Fighters.com scored the round 10-9 for Yarbrough.

When it was announced that a third round wasn’t necessary, everyone knew the outcome.

Winner by decision: Cale Yarbrough

Rampage was upset, thinking Schultz had won round one.

Forrest offered Yarbrough for another round.

Schultz told Forrest, “Go back to your corner.  I can’t wait until you fight Rampage.”

Forrest countered with a “Who the fuck are you?” stare.

Rampage warned Forrest, “I bet my whole purse our fight doesn’t end in a decision,” then stormed off.

Fighters.com: When does training become the only thing you focus on?  When do you start dieting and shedding weight?

Nathan Marquardt: Six weeks out is when training gets serious.  Then more so at three weeks out.  I dont worry about weight until last week.

Fighters.com: Your fight with Leites has been rescheduled twice.  Can you over prepare or get complacent with too much time to think about a particular opponent?

Nathan Marquardt: Maybe you can get complacent.  I will watch out for that.  You can’t be too prepared though.

Fighters.com: As a fighter, when you review a loss, what’s the psychology?

Nathan Marquardt: You have to figure out why he beat you.  Yes, he got lucky, but it wasn’t unlucky for me.  I did something wrong.  The fighter who wins was always better on that night, but you cannot ever think that he is a better fighter period.

Fighters.com: How do you analyze the crop of prospects coming up at 185-pounds in the UFC: “Count” Michael Bisping (15-1), “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2), and Demian Maia (7-0)?

Nathan Marquardt: They are all tough, all present their own challenges.  I’m just the best!