Sherk poised to take on Griffin at UFC 90

"I've been real careful with who I'm going to fight. I don't want to fight up-and-coming guys," Sean Sherk said. Courtesy of MMAWeekly.com  Hamlin: Fisher-Guillard set for UFC 90  Staff: Barnett vs. Arlovski at Affliction 2  Hammond: Ciesnolevicz wants a shot

By Tom Hamlin, MMAWeekly.com

Sean Sherk's quest to regain his Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight belt begins again in Chicago.

After losing the strap to B.J. Penn at UFC 84 in May, Sherk will face off with Xtreme Couture standout Tyson Griffin at UFC 90. Both fighters have agreed to the bout, and are in the process of signing bout agreements, according to sources close to both camps.

Since his loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 67, Griffin has been on a four-fight tear, recently defeating American Top Team's Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86 in July.

Griffin's camp had reportedly been wanting for the fight for quite some time, and with Sherk's loss, everything seems to have worked out nicely.

In an interview with MMAWeekly.com this past weekend, Sherk would not confirm the fight, but spoke about his next opponent and UFC future.

"I've got five fights left, and I feel like I have a good strong future with the UFC," Sherk said. "Maybe one or two wins and I'll be back in title contention again.

"I've been real careful with who I'm going to fight. I don't want to fight up-and-coming guys. You start fighting up-and-coming guys and you have to fight more guys to make your way up to the top. I want to fight the best of the best, and that's what I'm doing with this upcoming fight."

Griffin, still on leave from a week-long camping trip, was unavailable for comment.

To check out videos at MMAWeekly TV, click here.