I know BJ’s a heavy favorite but I’m curious to see how he handles Joe’s strength.

From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.

BJ has been the favorite in every fight that he has been in,,, and we all know his track record doesn’t correspond with that so yeah this should really be a good fight. BJ’s last few fights you could tell his cardio was in question or non existent, I hope that he has fixed that, cause if not Joe is deffinantly going to make BJ call him Daddy no more Daddy……

Stevenson made a good point about sherk holding onto the title for a long time with only 1 defense.

Dana White also likes sherk and probably asked them not to say certain things. I can’t imagine BJ’s response wasn’t at least partially manufactured.

BJ just got wise. For the lightweight crown, Sherk is the ‘next biggest fight’. These guys get their money from the PPV buys so don’t think that doesn’t play in the decisions.

Man Joe Stevenson’s voice always sounds so haggard, like all he does all day is scream at the top of his lungs.

[quote comment=”270642″]From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.[/quote]

Agreed upon completely! I have yet to hear in any interview that BJ just outright refused to fight Sherk at any point. His issue with Sherk is the steroid use in order to get to the title. Too much assumption and not enuf looking at the reality of what BJ had to say.

off topic: Chuck Liddel looking like he is still focused:

http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1380784998

[quote comment=”270642″]From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.[/quote]

Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

What am I missing? He only wants to fight him if was cleared of the steroid charge. He wasn’t.

[quote comment=”270644″]BJ has been the favorite in every fight that he has been in,,, and we all know his track record doesn’t correspond with that so yeah this should really be a good fight. BJ’s last few fights you could tell his cardio was in question or non existent, I hope that he has fixed that, cause if not Joe is deffinantly going to make BJ call him Daddy no more Daddy……[/quote]

I believe he was a heavy underdog in the first Hughes fight, and he blew him out of the water.

There’s no reason Sherk should be up next. He FAILED a test for steroids. At the very least he should have to fight Huerta or another top guy to get the shot.

And am I crazy?

The promos for UFC 80 say “interim” lightweight championship. Is that just dated material or does Sherk really still have the other half of the belt and the UFC is just hush-hush about it?

Sherk needs to just go away.

[quote comment=”270681″]There’s no reason Sherk should be up next. He FAILED a test for steroids. At the very least he should have to fight Huerta or another top guy to get the shot.

And am I crazy?

The promos for UFC 80 say “interim” lightweight championship. Is that just dated material or does Sherk really still have the other half of the belt and the UFC is just hush-hush about it?

Sherk needs to just go away.[/quote]

I’m with you 100% on all of it. Dana just loves Sherk so he will get hooked up. Weak I think…Sherk should have to start all over again!!!!!!!!!!

[quote comment=”270660″]Man Joe Stevenson’s voice always sounds so haggard, like all he does all day is scream at the top of his lungs.[/quote]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I can understand he if sounded like that immediately after leaving a concert, or even after a grueling 3-5 round fight, but not after walking 150 steps out of hotel room, taking the elevator, and another 100 steps to the conference room.

Even if he was training right before the press conference, I don’t know how his voice can sound like that. It doesn’t sound like that in all of his interviews. If anyone, I would think that Ricky Hatton would have that ‘haggard’ tone to his voice after a long practice seeing that he screams/loudly grunts everytime he throws a punch.

[quote comment=”270681″]There’s no reason Sherk should be up next. He FAILED a test for steroids. At the very least he should have to fight Huerta or another top guy to get the shot.

And am I crazy?

The promos for UFC 80 say “interim” lightweight championship. Is that just dated material or does Sherk really still have the other half of the belt and the UFC is just hush-hush about it?

Sherk needs to just go away.[/quote]

Sean Sherk still holds the belt. Once he faces the winner of Penn/Stevenson, the belts will be unified. What a crock.

[quote comment=”270670″][quote comment=”270642″]From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.[/quote]

Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

What am I missing? He only wants to fight him if was cleared of the steroid charge. He wasn’t.[/quote]

Where does BJ say anything like that? There have been several threads on Mania, that have begun with ‘Bj won’t fight a guilty Sherk’. And it began with this article, but BJ never makes this claim. If someone can point it out for me that’d clear up my confusion.

[quote comment=”270718″][quote comment=”270670″][quote comment=”270642″]From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.[/quote]

Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

What am I missing? He only wants to fight him if was cleared of the steroid charge. He wasn’t.[/quote]

Where does BJ say anything like that? There have been several threads on Mania, that have begun with ‘Bj won’t fight a guilty Sherk’. And it began with this article, but BJ never makes this claim. If someone can point it out for me that’d clear up my confusion.[/quote]

Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge (this is attributed to Penn).
Again, he said he only wants to fight him if was cleared of the steroid charge. He wasn’t.

[quote comment=”270670″][quote comment=”270642″]From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.[/quote]

Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

What am I missing? He only wants to fight him if was cleared of the steroid charge. He wasn’t.[/quote]

What I think Penn referred to before the final verdict by the CSAC is..If Sherk was found guilty of using steroids and not stripped of his title, and his fight with Joe would be for the interim LW title. Then BJ wouldn’t fight Sherk on those grounds. Being Sherk was charged and did his time..Sherk is the number 1 guy in the division..BJ will fight Sherk next if he beats Joe on Saturday.

MANIA- Any reputable paper would back up a statement with a ‘quote’. They quote BJ on many things in the article, but if the Honolulu Advisor isn’t going to prove that BJ said a certain thing. Then I’m going to think that the interviewer merely jumped to that conclusion.

[quote comment=”270757″]MANIA- Any reputable paper would back up a statement with a ‘quote’. They quote BJ on many things in the article, but if the Honolulu Advisor isn’t going to prove that BJ said a certain thing. Then I’m going to think that the interviewer merely jumped to that conclusion.[/quote]

Fair enough. But he played that same card numerous times since that article in the Advertiser. We didn’t just create it here.

Who cares if Sherk did or didn’t cheat - he got stripped of the belt and banned for a period of time. Once you do your time, that’s it. I definitely want to see him and BJ go at it.

The whole steroid thing is going to be just like baseball. We’re going to focus on one or two guys (Canseco/Bonds) until it comes out how wide spread it really is. Either ban it and do everything you can to stop it, i.e. test every fighter on every card every time, or just ignore it all together and say you don’t approve.

[quote comment=”270783″][quote comment=”270757″]MANIA- Any reputable paper would back up a statement with a ‘quote’. They quote BJ on many things in the article, but if the Honolulu Advisor isn’t going to prove that BJ said a certain thing. Then I’m going to think that the interviewer merely jumped to that conclusion.[/quote]

Fair enough. But he played that same card numerous times since that article in the Advertiser. We didn’t just create it here.[/quote]

Ahh, I’ll take a look at their other articles, thanks.

After what I predict to be a barnburner of a fight, BJ Penn will go on to face The Muscle Shark. Is this justified?

Of course it is.

Sean Sherk is pound for pound, one of the most devastating lightweights in the UFC. Dana White has said in several interviews that he believes Sherk didn’t take steroids. Friend or not, Dana White also said he passed a lie detector test on the matter. I’m not a huge Sherk fan, but I love to watch him fight and PENN vs SHERK is an awesome gift to fight fans.
I just dont get the backlash from fight fans over the steroid allegations. If he did it, fine, it sucks, but he served his time and now he deserves respect. Nobody was crying when Stephan Bonnar was busted and did his time. They welcomed back The American Psycho with open arms.

Hypocrites.

That’s because Bonnar is a nobody so we don’t care as much. Sherk won the UFC title and defended it.

And no, he doesn’t deserve our respect. Respect is earned, it’s not a right. We can choose to respect him or not, it’s our individual choice. Bonnar did not receive any respect when he came back after his suspension, he didn’t deserve it.

I think bj just cares about fighting the best and now seems to care more about what’s best for the ufc, he seems to have had a change of heart. After he beats joe he’ll go after sherk and mostly likely win, and then will be seen as the true light weight champ without question.
In my opinion heres the fighters I feel are the best in there division.
Penn lightweight
gsp welter weight
a silva middle weight
rampage light heavy weight
fedor heavy weight

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to see Penn vs. Sherk just like everybody else does. So BJ can mop the floor with his head!

Sherk has paid the price, did his time, dana believes he’s innocent, why shouldn’t he get a title shot? How can anyone argue with the fact it would be great to see penn and sherk go at it, I for one would love to see that fight.

You guys can go on and on about Penn vs Sherk but the fact of the matter is he’s not getting past Joe. The hype around BJ is gone that’s why everybody says there not buying this fight. Joe will be stronger, younger, and hungry. So don’t be suprised if you see BJ get choked out.

The card’s not getting buys mostly because of the rest of the card, which is pretty much crap. BJ still creates one of the biggest buzzes in MMA.

The only way Joe will get a submission on BJ is if he absolutely takes his chin off with a strike first. That’s no easy task because BJ’s got an amazing chin.

I want to see all the Penn haters on this forum to continue writing after BJ kicks Joe’s a$$ on saturday. Especially nathan.

Sorry nathan, I meant JV.

The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.

[quote comment=”271000″]The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.[/quote]

The reason why the card isn’t stacked and why it’s being held in Europe is because of the Jones vs Trinidad fight. The UFC would get killed if they shared the same time-slot with this one boxing event. Although I too belie Boxing has died, there are certain fights that everyone wants to see.

[quote comment=”270981″]Sorry nathan, I meant JV.[/quote

I don’t hate BJ, I think he’s a good fighter but when someone runs his mouth like he has it’s hard to want him to win. And if he is such a draw then more people would buy the PPV the rest of the card is not a good excuse.

[quote comment=”271116″][quote comment=”270981″]Sorry nathan, I meant JV.[/quote

I don’t hate BJ, I think he’s a good fighter but when someone runs his mouth like he has it’s hard to want him to win. And if he is such a draw then more people would buy the PPV the rest of the card is not a good excuse.[/quote]

I understand your point However, the UFC’s decision to have tis event on the same day as the Jones/Trinidad fight was a mistake. Everyone runs their mouth, its entertainment.

[quote comment=”271042″][quote comment=”271000″]The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.[/quote]

The reason why the card isn’t stacked and why it’s being held in Europe is because of the Jones vs Trinidad fight. The UFC would get killed if they shared the same time-slot with this one boxing event. Although I too belie Boxing has died, there are certain fights that everyone wants to see.[/quote]
Good call. I agree 100%. And to the few who claim Penn runs his mouth, I don’t really get it. I don’t see any real examples of that. Only said good things about Joe, even said Hughes was a good champ, just taht he would beat him. Even Pulver, just angry cuz Pulver was supposedly running his mouth. But i don’t see Penn in the trash talking catagory whatsoever.

UFC.com has Penn interviewing and boxing very recently. He lost his gut it seems. If only they could deflate that pumpkin head of his (jk).

Penn looks to be in shape.

This fight is going to kick ass!

[quote comment=”271199″][quote comment=”271042″][quote comment=”271000″]The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.[/quote]

The reason why the card isn’t stacked and why it’s being held in Europe is because of the Jones vs Trinidad fight. The UFC would get killed if they shared the same time-slot with this one boxing event. Although I too belie Boxing has died, there are certain fights that everyone wants to see.[/quote]
Good call. I agree 100%. And to the few who claim Penn runs his mouth, I don’t really get it. I don’t see any real examples of that. Only said good things about Joe, even said Hughes was a good champ, just taht he would beat him. Even Pulver, just angry cuz Pulver was supposedly running his mouth. But i don’t see Penn in the trash talking catagory whatsoever.[/quote]

These were his words about Matt Hughes “I think he fought like a pussy, he was scared of GSP” Do you not consider that shit talking. And he’s talking about fighting all these other guys like if he’s going to run over Stevenson

[quote comment=”271244″][quote comment=”271199″][quote comment=”271042″][quote comment=”271000″]The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.[/quote]

The reason why the card isn’t stacked and why it’s being held in Europe is because of the Jones vs Trinidad fight. The UFC would get killed if they shared the same time-slot with this one boxing event. Although I too belie Boxing has died, there are certain fights that everyone wants to see.[/quote]
Good call. I agree 100%. And to the few who claim Penn runs his mouth, I don’t really get it. I don’t see any real examples of that. Only said good things about Joe, even said Hughes was a good champ, just taht he would beat him. Even Pulver, just angry cuz Pulver was supposedly running his mouth. But i don’t see Penn in the trash talking catagory whatsoever.[/quote]

These were his words about Matt Hughes “I think he fought like a pussy, he was scared of GSP” Do you not consider that shit talking. And he’s talking about fighting all these other guys like if he’s going to run over Stevenson[/quote]
In all fairness to BJ, it just sounds like he is trying to entice Hughes to fight him again.

[quote post=”4571″]In all fairness to BJ, it just sounds like he is trying to entice Hughes to fight him again.[/quote]

Yup, that’s what I got from it. GSP and Hughes have more to lose by fighting BJ. If they beat BJ, then people will just say “BJ was over-rated anyways”. And if they lose, obviously it’s gonna be bad for their careers, although more so for GSP than Hughes. But there’s good reason why BJ would want these fights. They would be the 2 victories (plus Sherk) that will finally silence the critics and cement his legacy.

[quote comment=”271244″][quote comment=”271199″][quote comment=”271042″][quote comment=”271000″]The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.[/quote]

The reason why the card isn’t stacked and why it’s being held in Europe is because of the Jones vs Trinidad fight. The UFC would get killed if they shared the same time-slot with this one boxing event. Although I too belie Boxing has died, there are certain fights that everyone wants to see.[/quote]
Good call. I agree 100%. And to the few who claim Penn runs his mouth, I don’t really get it. I don’t see any real examples of that. Only said good things about Joe, even said Hughes was a good champ, just taht he would beat him. Even Pulver, just angry cuz Pulver was supposedly running his mouth. But i don’t see Penn in the trash talking catagory whatsoever.[/quote]

These were his words about Matt Hughes “I think he fought like a pussy, he was scared of GSP” Do you not consider that shit talking. And he’s talking about fighting all these other guys like if he’s going to run over Stevenson[/quote]

Well let’s talk about $hit talking. How dare Matt Hughes put down Tim Sylvia in his book. I’m no Tim Sylvia fan, but he was there on Matt’s side during all of his fights. BJ dissed Matt Hughes mostly because he said those things about his supposed friend Tim Sylvia. BJ Penn would never say those kinds of things about Renato Verissimo, Cabbage Correia, Mike Aina etc. It’s not like Penn is known for his $hit talking, he’s known for his uncanny fighting abilities and as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world.

[quote comment=”270664″][quote comment=”270642″]From article:
Penn said he would still like to fight Sherk, but only if Sherk is cleared of the steroids charge.

“If he did win the belt by cheating, that’s ridiculous,” Penn said. “But he’s the one who has to live with it.”

Penn also joked that his bout with Stevenson would be for the “natural” lightweight championship.

“Just like bodybuilding,” Penn said. “If guys are cheating, maybe there should be two divisions.”

Other than the article inferring it, I still don’t see a quote by BJ stating that he would not fight a roid/guilty Sherk.
This issue comes up often, but BJ says nothing of not fighting Sherk.[/quote]

Agreed upon completely! I have yet to hear in any interview that BJ just outright refused to fight Sherk at any point. His issue with Sherk is the steroid use in order to get to the title. Too much assumption and not enuf looking at the reality of what BJ had to say.[/quote]

I am a complete BJ fan and agree also. I do not remember what article it was or exact time but it was right around the time that he stated the 2 division comment that he did not want to fight Sherk. He was saying it in the sense that Sherk shouldn’t get a chance, for cheating….

[quote comment=”271150″][quote comment=”271116″][quote comment=”270981″]Sorry nathan, I meant JV.[/quote

I don’t hate BJ, I think he’s a good fighter but when someone runs his mouth like he has it’s hard to want him to win. And if he is such a draw then more people would buy the PPV the rest of the card is not a good excuse.[/quote]

I understand your point However, the UFC’s decision to have tis event on the same day as the Jones/Trinidad fight was a mistake. Everyone runs their mouth, its entertainment.[/quote]

The UFC had the TUF 7 finale the same night as the Mayweather/Hatton fight. That was a MUCH bigger boxing fight than Jones/Trinidad. Those two have been past thier prime for at least 6 years. Mayweather and Hatton both came into their fight UNDEFEATED.

Anyway, the I believe that the ratings to the TUF 7 finale did just fine, even with the 2nd biggest boxing fight of the year airing simultaneously.

[quote comment=”271244″][quote comment=”271199″][quote comment=”271042″][quote comment=”271000″]The card is definitely not what it could be. There are a few interesting fights, Gonzaga/Werdum, Marcus Davis, Lambert/Gouveia, but they could’ve loaded it a little more for the fans. They’re trying to highlight some of the British talent, like Paul Taylor. I think it’s cool to see new fighters, but once again its lacking atleast two other great matchups.[/quote]

The reason why the card isn’t stacked and why it’s being held in Europe is because of the Jones vs Trinidad fight. The UFC would get killed if they shared the same time-slot with this one boxing event. Although I too belie Boxing has died, there are certain fights that everyone wants to see.[/quote]
Good call. I agree 100%. And to the few who claim Penn runs his mouth, I don’t really get it. I don’t see any real examples of that. Only said good things about Joe, even said Hughes was a good champ, just taht he would beat him. Even Pulver, just angry cuz Pulver was supposedly running his mouth. But i don’t see Penn in the trash talking catagory whatsoever.[/quote]

These were his words about Matt Hughes “I think he fought like a pussy, he was scared of GSP” Do you not consider that shit talking. And he’s talking about fighting all these other guys like if he’s going to run over Stevenson[/quote]
JV, where did you get that from? I’ve never heard that quote before. ALl I heard was the one where he said it would be hard for Hughes to come back cuz taht was an embarrasing loss.