Ladies and gentleman, the cage doors are now open.

In partnership with Shark Fights and Lionsgate, CagePotato is proud to announce the official launch of Proving Ground. More than just a contest, Proving Ground is a six-week quest to find a rising MMA star and follow his life and training as he approaches what could be a career-changing fight.

If you visit cagepotato.com/proving-ground, you’ll find our first batch of eight applicants; we invite you to watch their videos and get to know them. On August 15th, we’ll announce four finalists who we think best represent the CagePotato brand, featuring their bios and exclusive interviews/video blogs on the Proving Ground page. And with your help, we’ll select a single fighter out of those four — the “Proving Ground #1 Contender” — who will receive a three-fight contract with Shark Fights and make their debut at Shark Fights 19, September 10th in Independence, Missouri.

So if you’re an up-and-coming pro MMA fighter who deserves some recognition, please e-mail ProvingGround@cagepotato.com by the end of next week with your official fight record (preferably from Sherdog or MixedMartialArts.com), a photo of yourself, and 1-3 of your fight videos.

Applicants must be licensed to fight, and available to compete professionally in the U.S. in September. If you have any questions, throw ‘em in the comments section below or e-mail us. Thanks to Lionsgate for making this possible, and please follow Shark Fights on Facebook and Twitter.