The transformation of Wai'anae's Kala Kolohe Hose is nearly complete.

All he needs now is a world championship.

Hose will get his shot on Saturday, when he faces Phil Baroni of New York for the Icon Sport organization's vacant middleweight world title.

It will be the main event of the Icon Sport: To Hell And Back mixed martial arts card at the Blaisdell Center Arena. The card will feature 13 bouts, and preliminaries are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

"This is the biggest fight of my life," said Hose, 25. "I don't care what other people say, if I deserve it or not. I'm getting a shot and I want to take advantage."

That Hose is fighting Baroni for the title is a story in itself.

A year ago, Hose was an undercard fighter in the Icon Sport organization. By the summer of 2007, he was offered a title shot against then-champion Robbie Lawler of Iowa.

But due to various injuries, illnesses and conflicting schedules, Lawler had to postpone the bout with Hose three times.

Lawler was finally stripped of his title last month, and Hose and Baroni were announced as the top contenders for the vacant crown.

"To tell you the truth, all that stuff with Robbie helped my career," Hose said. "So many people were talking about it, and that gave me the exposure I didn't get before."

Hose is 5-1, with all five of his victories by knockout. Baroni, who is nicknamed "The New York Bad Ass," is 10-8 with seven wins by knockout.

"Hopefully, it will be a stand-up fight," Hose said. "I know we both like to knock out guys."

To prepare for Baroni, Hose spent nearly a month training with Frank Shamrock in San Jose, Calif.

Shamrock is one of the sport's all-time greats, and he defeated Baroni last year to win a championship in another organization.

"I learned so much, and all the training was specifically for Baroni," Hose said. "Frank just beat him, so he knows what it takes. I was just listening, doing everything he told me."

Hose said the training was efficient, and included some high-tech methods.

"We put on heart monitors; I never did that before," Hose said. "Once the heart rate reached a certain number, you had to try and stay at that number. For the cardio (training), we weren't running that much, but it was like smart running."

Hose returned to Wai'anae two weeks ago, and has maintained the same training methods he learned from Shamrock.

Patrick Freitas, the matchmaker for the Icon Sport organization, said: "Training with Frank Shamrock was the best thing that could have happened to Kala. He was always this fearless fighter who could knock anybody out with one punch. But now, it's like his game is more rounded. He's more confident."

After Baroni lost to Shamrock last June, he tested controversially positive for steroids (the same sample later tested negative during an appeal process).

Freitas said the fighters on Saturday's card will be tested for drugs after the bouts.

Not that it matters to Hose.

"I don't care if he's on steroids or not," Hose said. "I don't think it's right for the sport if he did do it, but I'll fight him anyway."

Hose, after all, has waited long enough. He even put his job at Keeno Farms Construction on hold for nearly a year to train for Lawler, and then Baroni.

His wife, Chelsie, has also helped. She has become his business manager, and has secured several sponsorships.

"My whole family put so much into this," Hose said. "That's why I've been training so hard."

Just for the record, Hose, a former football player at Wai'anae High, said he is out of tickets for Saturday's event.

"I think everybody in Wai'anae went ask me already," he said. "I no more ... but I hope you guys all come out anyway to support."

SATURDAY'S CARD

185 pounds (world title): Phil Baroni vs. Kala Kolohe Hose. 205: Augie Padeken vs. Jeremy Williams. 145 (state title): Sadhu Bott vs. Bronson Pieper. 135: Russell Doane vs. Tyson Nam. 170: Wayne Perrin III vs. Koa Ramos. 170: Brennan Kamaka vs. Ross Ebanez. 160: Eddie Rincon vs. P.J. Dean. 145: Matt Comeau vs. Elias Delos Reyes. 150: Alan Lima vs. David Padilla. 135: Zack Rapal vs. Dwayne Haney. 137.5: Nui Wheeler vs. Jay Bolos. 145: Colin MacKenzie vs. Ricky Wallace. 175: Wade Ke vs. Ikaika Moreno.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.