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Mirko to Face Jerome LeBanner

Statement from Mirko Crocop:

Yes, I'm going to fight on July 20. I was looking forward to appearing on the DREAM 4 card on June 15 and I based my preparations on that. I suffered a minor leg injury last week, but it doesn't affect my trainings. During a wrestling session, I slipped and felt pain in my left knee, but the medical exams have confirmed that no damage was done. I'm wearing a special bandage just as a precaution."

Sherk Passes Drug Test

Following some confusion over the recent drug test results of former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder Sean Sherk in Nevada, the official results are in. Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday via email, “The NSAC received Mr. Sherk’s steroid and drug test results this morning and they were all negative.”

Initial reports last week had stated that Sherk had already been cleared as part of Nevada’s new out-of-competition testing process. Kizer on Friday, however, notified MMAWeekly.com that, “Mr. Sherk was tested as a condition of licensure. We have not yet received the results of that test, the sample for which was given on or about April 22, 2008.”

The negative result confirms that Sherk has been cleared for licensure and will be able to challenge B.J. Penn, the current UFC lightweight champion, on May 24 in the main event of UFC 84 in Las Vegas.

Sherk was suspended in California for failing a drug test following his victory over Hermes Franca on July 7 in Sacramento. He was subsequently stripped of the title. As of April 14, he fulfilled the terms of his suspension in California and was removed from the active suspension list.

As previously reported, Penn was tested by Nevada as part of the new out-of-competition procedure. His test results came back negative on April 23 according to Kizer.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was also drug tested recently and returned negative results. Kizer indicated that the commission also intends to test Ortiz’s opponent, Lyoto Machida.

Nick Diaz off Dream 3 Card ( Back On Again)

After days of confusion and frustration, it appears that Nick Diaz (Pictures) will be fighting Sunday in Japan after all.

"It was off, then on, then off again … now it's back on," said Diaz's trainer, Cesar Gracie (Pictures). "I won't really believe it until he is on the plane tomorrow morning heading to Japan."

Diaz will spend his last few hours in the United States cutting weight before heading to Japan to face former King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (Pictures) in Dream.

"Tonight we will be pulling an all-nighter cutting weight," Gracie said late Wednesday. "Nick was under the impression he wasn't fighting. So now we have to get the weight back down before he leaves."

At one time Diaz was set to compete on Dream's April 29 card, a date Gracie said was approved by EliteXC. However, Diaz's participation became uncertain after promoter Fight Entertainment Group moved the date of his bout to Sunday.

EliteXC President Gary Shaw originally pulled Diaz from this weekend's card because the contest was said to be too close to the June 14 EliteXC match between Diaz and Muhsin Corbbrey (Pictures) in Hawaii.

Gracie stated that ProElite CEO Doug DeLuca was to thank for making the Diaz-Inoue bout happen.

"He thought Nick sort of got screwed with the whole California Athletic Commission thing," Gracie said, referencing the California commission's removal of Diaz from a March matchup against Jae Suk Lim