Yves Edwards will get his chance to finally get a championship belt around his waist this Saturday night. Edwards, the former "uncrowned" UFC lightweight champion, has fought some of the best guys in the business and has beaten a good majority of them. He's known for his lethal hands, kicks, and knees as well as his excellent submission prowess. He'll get the opportunity to utilize all his skills at EliteXC's "Return of the King" on Saturday night when faces defending 160-pound champion KJ Noons.

The event will be taking place in Hawaii, which can be a gift and a curse for any athlete. As beautiful as Hawaii is, Edwards doesn't want to let the beauty distract him from his main focus. "I don't want to get distracted," he explained. "It's just another fight. I'm going to enjoy it after the fight."

The fight with Noons has a lot of potential for Edwards. After all, this will be the biggest fight up to this point in his career and he knows it. "It's big. I really appreciate it. I feel like it put me back on the map, you know? I got a lot of guys backing me. I have a really strong team. I'm really excited about this fight."

With the CBS deal in EliteXC's hands, a big win will surely propel Edwards to the top of list of fighters in the upcoming events for CBS. However, he is just as happy fighting on Showtime. "Showtime is a big network. There will be a lot of people watching the fight. I'm really excited to be fighting on a major network on cable. There are just so many opportunities right now and I plan on using them all."

EliteXC has established their weight classes differently than many of the other organizations. While this fight is at lightweight, the actual weight will be 160 pounds. Not that Edwards would ever have problem making weight, considering he once weighed in at a UFC event eating a cheeseburger. Due to the increased weight, he has tried to become a little bit larger than he was previously. "I've got a little bit bigger because the weight class is higher. I'm just focused on this fight right now."

An impressive part of Edwards' game is his versatility. He's as dangerous as they come at almost every position. "It's just like every other fight," he commented. "I'm not uncomfortable anywhere in a fight. You can't be one dimensional. That's the biggest part of me being at American Top Team."

Some of his versatility showed in his last fight when he had a highlight reel knockout over Edson Berto. Berto was working a single leg takedown when Edwards, seemingly out of nowhere, jumped with his pivot foot and kneed Berto right on the button to lay him out. "I've practiced that in the gym," he laughed. "There's a lot more where that came from. A whole lot more."

Noons is not an opponent to be taken lightly, which is why Edwards has watched all the fights he could on the champion. "I watched a lot of fights," said Edwards. "I see quite a few places I can capitalize on. The question is, 'will he be the same guy?' I am going to look for all the openings I've seen on tape. I saw a few things that may work out well for me."

Being that this fight is for the championship belt, Edwards is well prepared to go five rounds. "It's always a possibility so you've got to be prepared for it. I feel comfortable going to that distance. I want a finish for the fans. But, I'm going to take advantage of it, if not."

The main factor that Edwards will have on Noons will be his experience. Edwards has been in the cage with some of the best in the business. Having that experience can only help the challenger. However, he isn't expecting that to have any impact on the champion. "It's a possibility, but it's not something I game plan on. He's got fight experience and he has the desire to win. That's what I'm expecting to fight. Anyone less than that, they're going to get their ass whooped."

For Yves Edwards, this is a pivotal fight in his storied career. A win over Noons will propel him to the exposure and notoriety that many other EliteXC fighters such as Kimbo Slice, Joey Villasenor, and Gina Carano have experienced.

Edwards feel he is prepared to defeat Noons and take home another win. His prediction for the fight is simple: "Just to get in there and destroy whatever is in front of me. To walk out of that cage with a W, and my hand held high and a big smile on my face."

Nate Diaz will take on Josh Neer on September 17 at UFC Fight Night 14 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.

The lightweight matchup was confirmed Wednesday by GracieFighter.com, the official website of Diaz's Cesar Gracie camp.

Diaz (9-2), the season five winner of The Ultimate Fighter, has competed at the past three UFC Fight Night events, tapping out all of his opponents with chokes. The most recent one was on April 2, when Diaz submitted Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Black Belt Kurt Pellegrino with a triangle choke.

Neer (23-6-1), a product of Miletich Fighting Systems, won a unanimous decision against Din Thomas at the last UFC Fight Night. The 25 years old out of Des Moines, Iowa will look to avoid suffering losses to both Diaz brothers. Neer succumbed to a kimura to Nick Diaz at UFC 62 in August 2006.

Two years ago you'd be harder pressed to find a fighter as much on a roll as Miletich Martial Arts welterweight Rory Markham.

After exploding onto the national scene with a 44 seconds knockout of highly regarded Mike Pyle at the International Fight League's first event in April of 2006, Markham went on to win his next four fights, proving himself one of the league’s first breakout stars.

However, Markham's last fight of the year, a loss to Team Quest standout Chris Wilson, seemingly put him on a rollercoaster ride of injuries and inconsistency that saw him lose his most recent fight to unheralded Brett Cooper this past December.

Back after a hiatus, Markham's looking to shake his bad luck at this coming June 14 Adrenaline show in Chicago, Illinois against Taiwon Howard.

"It's a really big thing for me," he said of getting back on the winning path. "It's the worst thing to end off a year with a loss and then have some time off and not be able to go right back out there and show the fans that you are a lot better than that last fight.

"It's very important for me to win every time, but more so this time."

Even with a sense of urgency creeping up on him, Markham remains optimistic heading into Adrenaline.

"I feel great," he exclaimed. "Training camp went well and I'm starting to see the things I need to see to get my confidence in the right place before the fight."

According to Markham, although he's getting a chance to step out of the IFL and fight for another promotion for the first time in two years, he doesn't intend to change the formula that has helped him gain his recognition.

"It's the same old, same old for me," he said. "I'm going to go out there and oppose my will on my opponent."

"I'm not going to worry about (Taiwon's) game plan too much. I like to know a little bit about what they're about, then I like to go out there and impose my will and get him thinking about what I'm going to do, as opposed to the other way around."

With the fate of IFL looking bleak at this point, he intends to use Adrenaline to showcase what skills he can possibly bring to another promotion if the opportunity is afforded to him.

"I think the biggest thing with me is that every single time I fight there's excitement," stated Markham. "Any time you watch my fights, win or lose, I'm either coming back in a fight and winning it by knockout or putting on a fantastic show."

"I want to make sure that I'm worth the dollar value. I hope promoters keep me in mind because of my entertainment and abilities, and they can always be assured they're always going to get a great show from me."

After missing the first half of this year, he is hoping to finish out the remainder of 2008 strong and set himself up for further success.

"The purpose for me is to obviously get better," said Markham. "With getting better, and getting that belief you can accomplish your goals."

"Like for me, short term is string a few wins together and look for some big fights for myself. I want to see how far I can take this game. I’ve been in it for five years, so it's time."

Firstly Markham must change his luck if he hopes to have fortune smile on him as it did just a couple short years ago, starting with the Adrenaline show in Chicago.

"I'd like to thank Tapout, CytoSport Muscle Milk, Pat Miletich, Monte Cox, John Foyer, Fairtex, Brad Imes, Mike C., Sandy Bowman and the Angus Grill," closed out Markham.

"There's going to be close to 18 fights, so it's going to be a full night loaded with top talent. If they want excitement, someone that's willing to stand, trade and put on first a foremost an entertaining fight, that's me."

Here are the results for World Victory Road: Sengoku III from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Sunday, June 8, 2008:

• Light heavyweight bout: Fabio Silva def. Yoshiki Takahashi by knock out (knee attack)

• Lightweight bout: Rodrigo Damm def. Jorge Masvidal by technical knock out (punch)

• Heavyweight bout: Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz def. Choi Mu-bae by submission (rear naked choke)

• Middleweight bout: Sanae Kikuta def. Chris Rice by submission (armbar)

• Welterweight bout: Nick Thompson def. Michael Costa by submission (kimura)

• Middleweight bout: Kazuo Misaki def. Logan Clark by unanimous decision

• Heavyweight bout: Travis Wiuff def. Kazuyuki Fujita by KO (punches)

• Heavyweight bout: Hidehiko Yoshida def. Maurice Smith by submission (neck crank)