Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk (32-2-1) has been cleared from California’s active suspension list on Monday after he paid the outstanding fine associated with his sentence, according to MMAWeekly.
Sherk was actually eligible for reinstatement as early as January but had not submitted payment until yesterday.
The “Muscle Shark” tested positive for a banned anabolic agent (Nandrolone) in the wake of his successful title defense against Hermes Franca at UFC 73: “Stacked” in July 2007.
He was subsequently stripped of his crown, suspended and fined by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) — a ruling that he bitterly denies and blames on a mix of dietary supplements, shoddy lab work, breaches in the “chain of custody” and other factors.
It was enough to get his suspension reduced from 12 months to six; however, Sherk’s reputation has taken a big hit in the court of public opinion throughout the ordeal.
Sherk was pretty outspoken on his treatment by the CSAC, especially after being asked about the possibility of one day fighting again in the Golden State.
“It won’t even be offered to me. The way (the CSAC does) stuff is very biased. They don’t have rules; they don’t have regulations … they make stuff up as they go. There needs to be some kind of regulation. They want to follow WADA when it benefits them; they want to change things when it benefits them. Nobody overlooks them. There’s got to be some sort of backlash to everything that’s happened in the last five months.”
Sherk is scheduled to face current lightweight champion BJ Penn (12-4-1) at UFC 84: “Ill Will” at the MGM Grand on May 24 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Sean Sherk: YOU’RE DEAD.
I laughed my ass off when Penn said that, then again several more times when I immitated Penn and did it myself. lol
Get ready for BJ!!!!
DreamFighters.com has learned through a source at a fighting camp that Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski is close to be signing with former IFL star Ben Rothwell.
This fight would be in the Affliction-promoted card that could be headlined by Tim Sylvia (24-4) and Fedor Emelianenko (27-1). That fight is still being negotiated according to Fedor’s management team.
Arlovski is comming off a win when he recently defeated Jake O’Brien TKO (Punches) at UFC 82 – Pride of a Champion.
Rothwell however, has been undefeated since 2005, yet Arlovski may pose a great threat to that winning streak.
Dont know how credible this intel is, but if the UFC looses Arlovski it will be a huge blow to the UFC! Arlovski is currently the biggest fight possible for Nogueira in the UFC.
Could job Dana, (sarcasm) you through Arlovski on the under card against O’brien (who was recently released from the UFC, and now he is still being offered big fight pay days by other organizations.
dana rules the UFC with a stick (way too much), every once in a while he should try dangling a carrot!
I agree with you that Dana is probably his own worst enemy, but Arlovski hadn’t fought an exciting fight since his second match with with Sylvia, when he got knocked out. I don’t blame him for putting him on that undercard. Its frustrating to see a fighter fight boring fights, when we know he’s capable of much more, because we’ve seen him do it.
this came out last week john, the Silvia/Fedor card is looking amazing!! Dana White has made mma what it is today, and in the same instant has single handedly ruined the HW division (unless you WWE fans are really excited to see Lesner become champ..lol)
I know when the news came out, I was the one who posted it. This is not the same news as last week! Last week RUMORS for the rest of the Fedor vs. Sylvia card were announced.
Today’s news states that Arlovski vs. Rothwell is CLOSE to being signed. Sounds like a different post to me.
oh, so last week was a rumor and now their close. still doesn’t sound done???
I didn’t realize you posted, my bad
i just hope this is for real only if dana doesn,t re-sign a.a. and give hima title shot at big nog. that is the last great hw fight that the ufc has left. it could be possible that dana and the ufc doesnt have as much spending money as some would think. after buying out pride and the wec for somewhere between 60-70 mil last year they may not have alot of cap room. althuogh they relly dont have a cap, you know what i mean. i think if a.a. and rothwell fight a.a. will maul rothwell and expose as a b level fighter. the guy barely beat an older out of shape ricco rodruigez. that would setup a fight between a.a. and the winner of fedor/sylvia (fedor). a.a. vs fedor would be through the stratasphere. fedor would force a.a. to fight at his best or get destroyed. i just hope they figure out the hd-net thing.
It will pretty much be like fighting a somewhat better verision of Stevenson. Meaning, same result. Maybe a triangle though.
Well he wouldn’t have been treated bad if he didn’t juice.. That being said, I hope, I mean I know Penn will kick Sherk’s @$$ come May 24.. WAR PENN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
will be the first fight in a while that will truly test BJ
in all honesty pulver isnt even close to his level and joe stevenson never stood a chance
sean sherk on the other hand brings something special to the table
hes like a mini matt hughes although hughes was struggling til bj gassed/got injured in the 2nd fight
should be a great fight
good to see sherk back in the cage
i do feel somewhat sorry for hiim after his treatment and the hit his reputation has taken over the drug test
the keyboard warriors seem to think 1 little injection or a couple of pills would turn them into superman…
i have a lot of respect for a guy like franca who mans up and admits what he did and why he did it
at the same time for someone whos test results are supposedly only a little bit too high unlike royce gracies it is hard to know the truth
the levels of certain things must have a pretty big range of possible values and to say with certainty that something has to fall between a and b seems crazy to me
Sherk acts like the csac is out to get him and hate him, dude, its the same for everyone, except you failed and everyone else didnt. I dont think any fighter has falsely been accused, ever. When they find you guilty, its cause you’re guilty. The test might as well be nameless, like a multiple choice scantron in college for a final exam, the machine doesnt know or care who took the test, it just tells you wether you fail or pass. HA HA HA!!! The one time Sherk will need roids he wont have them, thats karma finding Sean “the dream stealer” Sherk. “Sean Sherk, Ya Dead!” Break his arm BJ!! No mercy for cheaters! Ever!
I agree! Sherk should shut his damn mouth and consider himself lucky. He wasnt even really punished when you think about it: Sherk last fought and was suspended in July, he gets to fight for the title in May. So according to Sherks pattern, he only fights once a year anyway, so was he really even suspended?
This tool has had his last 3 fights all be title fights:
Florian
Franca
Penn
This is complete crap. I cant watch Josh Barnett fight in the UFC because he tested positive for Roids in a title fight against Randy, but I have to watch Sherk continuily take part in title fights?
Sherk should shut his damn mouth, he gets the royal treatment from the UFC, all because he is willing to defend his lightweight title for like $10 bucks per fight!
The UFC ios lucky to have the best lightweight fighter in the entire world: BJ PEnn holding the lightweight title!
Well said…and I think that whole “gassing act” at the end of the Joe Stevenson fight was just that, an act. I don’t see this fight going the distance, even if steroid boy tries to lay on BJ, BJ is good enough (2nd best p4p) to beat him any where this fight goes
Long live king Sherk. I cant wait to find out how good he really is against Penn. I think he could be top 10 p4p by the end of the year.
Out of the question, Penn will smash him, and then St. Pierre.
Are you kidding me? top 10 p4p? For that to happen, he’d actually have to FINISH a fight. I think part of the reason Sherk has such good cardio, is because he knows he needs it. He’s afraid to create a little space on the ground, and go for a TKO. He shouldn’t be because he has the strength to power out of most submission holds, as we saw when he fought franca, a top level BJJ black belt. Anyway, I’d bet the house that Sherk DOESNT finish BJ, even if he does manage to get the win. I don’t even see that happening, because BJ is just too good, and I think his cardio is gonna be top notch when this fight happens. Plus, I think we’re gonna see a different fighter in Sherk, now that he’s gonna be off the roids, assuming he is. And I dont care what people say, the guys a 5′6″ brick. At his age, he couldnt keep up that workout or stay in that kind of shape, unless he was using something to help him. Obviously, I’m biased towards BJ. I think the only thing that will beat him, is himself. Now that he’s training like he should, I dont see it happening.
LOL ok so he’s fighting the #2 p4p (behind anderson silve) so what does that mean? Sherk can lay and pray on most guys for a win, but BJ is too dangerous to be able to do that
Penn at 155 is elite. But I can’t wait to see if Sherk can gas Penn out.
pen knows sherk is s cardio machine,so penn knows he needs in the top level condition in this fight, so penn will be there for 25 minutes “if nessesary”
And he somehow didn’t know GSP and Hughes were cardio machines.
Can’t wait for all te trash talk on the way into this one…I suspect that BJ will have some s@*t to say. This should be a good title fight. Hopefully BJ shows Sherk he doesn’t deserve his shot!!!!!
I’m sure Sherk will be back on HGH or some other untraceable doping agent as soon as he can.
At the risk of being flamed to death, I will say that I’m hoping to see Sherk win. There’s no denying that BJ is an awesome talent, but humility is not among his character traits.
Guess we’ll find out if being on the juice DID make a difference in Sherk’s fight game…
Don’t worry about the flamers. Just sit back and wait for their excuses on May 25th.
BJ PENN SUCKS… GO SHERK…. TIME FOR REDEMPTION
bj penn sucks??? you obviously dont know much about mma. he is one of the best p4p fighters in the world. think before you type sumthing lyke dat.
LOL bj penn sux, thats funny. u must be taking the same “supplements” sherk takes thats messing up ur mind too, haha. bj is one of the best fighters in the world and easiley one of the most entertaining. His mma style is one that most fighters can only dream of and almost no one can come close too!!!
well put bobby
I’m glad to see Sherk back but I would have to go with BJ. He’s just an amazing talent with such an arsenal.
GSP dominated SHERK. DOMINATED! GSP did not dominate Penn, winning a close decision. You do the math..
He should change his name to Sean Jerk. It’s far more fitting.
I hope Sherk crunches BJ “Pennis”. BJ is an arrogant little freak and i’d love to see him lose to the “muscle man”!