BJ Penn (12-4-1) and Sean Sherk (31-2-1) are set to do battle on May 24 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand for the UFC lightweight championship. But not before submitting to random drug tests - which both fighters have passed according to MSNBC.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) voted in favor of the extra measure because 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 present for the NSAC proceedings last month via telephone and agreed to submit the extra sample during the week of April 21 — one full month prior to his fight with Penn.
Now that he (and Penn) are officially clean (and hopefully sober), there can be no excuses one way or the other after May 24.
The best man will win.
162 Comments »
Hell yeah let the best man take it..Sherk might suprisingly win this bout in a 5 round grind match. It’s gonna suck knowing Sherk will be champion again.
While Sherk has a great chance to take this by testing BJ’s cardio and pushing the fight into the later rounds, he still has to survive against BJ in the opening rounds first.
Amen. BJ has to push the pace in the first 3. Otherwise Sherk will grind out the win. Then its back to lay and pray title matches in the 55ers. Yikes.
I know. At least when Hughes and Tito were winning, they would get stoppages.
They should do random tests during fighters camp at the very least in the weeks leading up to every single title fight.
The worse thing that can happen to the UFC (besides Dana chasing away big time free agents) is to have fighters test posaitive for roids during title fights. That is something that needs to be eliminated completely from the UFC, especially from title fights!
agreed, and I’m getting sick of all these guys that don’t believe sherk roided, and think he has a shot in this fight.
True comment kevin. You CAN”T test positive in the amount he did naturally. He tested 5X higher than Olympic athletes are allowed to. And they have a high amount to allow for genetic ’superfreaks’. Still, he is a dangerous fighter and should not be dismissed at all. No one is going to murder anyone in this contest, it’s going to be a war. And a toss-up war at that. IMO
Don’t see it chef. BJ will finish this one in round 2, I really think rd. 1, but don’t want to be too brash. OOPS, guess I said it.
lol. Didn’t say I wanted Sherk to win, he just shouldn’t be underestimated.
I agree with chef. I think that BJ is a much more exciting fighter to watch, and I’ll be rooting for him, but I think you’re a fool to discount Sherk’s chances in this fight. BJ has great stand up and BJJ, however, Sherk has only been finished once in his career. He’s tough to knock out and even tougher to submit. He’s ground out decisions over good BJJ guys like Franca, Diaz and Florian. If BJ can’t get a knock out or sub in the first two, maybe three rounds, I think Sherk will be able to beat him.
Oh Yeah, can you smell what the chef is cookin’? LOL
Penn is serious about this fight. Actually, he’s so serious that he hasn’t even been puffing.
“Sean Sherk you’re dead!”
you wouldnt know if smoking weed helped you in the ring!
Works ok for Nick Diaz!
you think it helped him??
It has only ever helped me laugh at stupid stuff and eat bizarre food combinations. A LONG time ago.
Good job Sherk!
I am getting sick of saying it every single day, but here we go again… Sherk will NOT win this FIGHT! Sherk wont even make it to a 3rd round against a well prepared BJ penn!
Round 2 = Rear naked Choke Time! Night Nighty, Mini-Hughes! lol
AGREED
i see it going to a decision! bj can finish sherk..but he always has this problem with wrestlers he can beat them yes..but he cant sometimes as well. i see sherk winning this by decision if bj cant put him to sleep by the end of the 2nd round!
Penn by amputation!
lol… should we celebrate for sherk today or wut? CONGRATULATIONS!! YOUR DEAD!!
LoL, NICE. And fr “Penn Cardio Questioners” Just go to (I feel like an idiot saying this) but go to BJ Penn.Com and look at the videos of his workouts and etc. The guy is doing 8 mile runs at 8,000feet . . . ON HIS DAY’S OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LoL, BJ BJ BJ!!!
Why do so many people underestimate sherk? BJ has no cardio… he was talking about how great his abs were and how he’s now fit and dedicated… but completely gassed after 1 and a half rounds with stevenson where he was dominating and not even being pushed… he needed help to walk and was puffing and panting like he was about to drop… if sherk can survive the first two rounds… esp with his pace and intensity… he’s got the fight in the bag - 3 rounds to 2… if his strategy is right and he can make BJ chase him/work hard first 2 rounds without losing it… the fight is his. BJ can do what he likes… he’ll always gas… and he can make whatever rib injury excuses he likes… and diss hughes now… fact is he had the fight for the first two rounds… and then lost cause he’s got zero stamina… he can moan about core mobility all he wants… but he gassed… and would have whether he got injured or not (which is part of the fight anyway)…
sherk by 5 round decision if he survives the first two.
That BJ has no cardio argument is relaly getting old and its not very accurate. Maybe 2 years ago it might have been an issue but it wont be in this fight.
BJ has been training non stop since his training camp for the pulver fight. Even the Penn haters and the 4 fans Sherk has left have got to agree that Penn outskills Sherk pretty bad! First off all, how many of you know how good Sherks cardio will be now that he is not on roids? I have no clue, but it definetly wont be better than ever…thats for sure.
On the other hand we are going to see the best version of BJ Penn that we have probably ever seen and Sean Sherk just cant compete with that. I think BJ has an advantage over sherk no matter where the fight goes:
Standing: BJ is a much better striker than Sherk and BJ has one of the best chins in the game (I will admit that Sherks chin isnt bad either). Advantage…Penn!
Sherk on top in Penns guard: Sherk has a decent ground n pound, its skilled but it doesnt hurt anyone. Its more annoying than anything. Since he rarely finishes anyone by ground n pound in the past couple of years, Bj wont be worried about the ground n pound and he will able to constantly look for all kinds of submissions. BJ has one of the best chins out of anyone I have ever seen fight at lightweight in mma. There is no realistic way that Sherk will be able to finish the fight. his only hope is winning a decision which I give him about a 15% chance of doing. BJ knows he cant fin ish him so he will look for all kinds of submission like, triangles, armbars, omo’s and gogo’s. Sherk is however very good at passing from position to position, but I dont think he is good enough to pass BJ’s Guard. IF he manages to takedown BJ Penn which is a big IF because Penn dexterity makes him about as hard to takedown as GSP and we all know how much Sherk struggled taking Georges down, it wont matter because BJ his deadly from his back and always ends up sweeping his opponent and ending up on top anyway!
On the ground with BJ on top: Sherk is like a fish out of water fighting off his back. he rarely end up on his back but when he does he is very ineffective. Think about what GSP did to him. People who dont think Penn can end up on top of Sherk on the ground will be in for a big surprise. BJ doesnt have to take Sherk down to end up on top. His flexability and WORLD CLASS ju jitsu makes him very good at sweeping an opponent and getting top position. I promise you all that somewhere in the 1st 2 rounds, BJ Penn will MOUNT Sherk, and BJ’s mount is probably better than anyone’s in the world. This is how I see the fight ending: BJ gets the mount, starts trying to cave Sherks face in with punches and viscious elbows, Sherk has enough, gives up his back, Bj Traps one of his arms with one of his Monkey legs leaving Sherk only 1 hand to defend himself, and then BJ will smack him around for a little, and eventually sink in the rear naked choke….Sherks face turns purple, Sherk Taps, referee tries to break BJ’s hold, but BJ holds on for just a few more seconds, and BJ Penn becomes the undisputed Lightweight champion of the world.
Like I said, I give Sherk about a 15% chance of winning this fight. Maybe 2 years ago Sherks would have had a big enough advantage that it may have been able to overcome BJ’s skills but not this year. Sherk will have the better Cardio, but not by that much, and when you are fighting such a dangerous guy like PENN, who can finish you at anytime, it makes it almost impossible for a guy who cant finish a fight to save his life to even go the distance.
Penn can win this fight so many different ways, Sherk has only 1, a decision….So how could anyone predict Sherk will win? NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
BJ’s going toimpressively put Sherk away!
Nice details . . . I dont even need to watch the fight now LoL . . .
Rather poor assessment overall I would say. It makes the fight seem one-sided. Excellent points on BJ and his sweeps. He won’t be able to take Sherk down with a shot but will be able to reverse position while on the ground. He has done it to everybody.
BJ is an extremely gifted fighter. His freakish flexibility combined with his jiu-jitsu skills are an unmatchable talent. However, on athleticism (i.e. conditioning along w/ quickness, speed, strength) BJ the athlete is below not just Sherk but most champion-level fighters.
You write-off the stand up game in one sentence to Penn. Based on what? It seems pretty even objectively viewed. Has BJ shown devasting KO power? His biggest KO (against Din Thomas) was the result of a well-timed knee which Sherk showed he could take vs. Franca. No power punch of Penn’s is going to be stronger than a knee. As big an aspect to the stand-up is speed, which the advantage goes to Sherk. He has demonstrated exceptional hand speed and effective use of combinations. Watch the Diaz fight and look who was supposed to be the better boxer but who did better when they matched up. Sherk won’t knock BJ out on the feet, but he will be able to outpoint him and wear him down to the point of fatigue that has made BJ so inaffective after he hits that wall.
I won’t critique every aspect that way, but for those that think Penn is going to steamroll through this, they need to do some honest analysis. As a fan of both fighters, I am looking as objectively as possible
Advantages:
BJJ: Penn
Wrestling: Sherk
Speed: Sherk
Strength: Sherk
Boxing/Stand-up: Even
Shapes up to be one hell of a war.
BJ Penn KO’d Caol Uno in seconds when Uno was in his prime.
He also couldn’t replicate it over five entire rounds nor win the fight. Hardly shows his dominant hands.
He almost KO’d Joe as well in the opening seconds. Rocked Pulver in the opening seconds, Rocked Rodrigo Gracie in the third round of there fight, Rocked Gomi Several times in every round, Rocked Hughes while standing over him which lead to him becoming the UFC welter weight champion. I never saw Hermes rocked, i never saw Florian rocked, Hughes, Diaz, and all the other cans Sean faught before that . . .
BJ Penn out boxed GSP! So how can you even give Sherk a chance on the stand up. That is why GSP layed and prayed ontop of him like a wet towel for the last 2 rounds. Sherk may be stronger but he gave how many pounds to Machida and still more then held his own. Reiteratng what Adam said as well Penn has rocked some of the best chins in the game Uno, Pulver, Hughes, Gomi! Sherk has rocked who? Oh who is that really good guy Sherk rocked Gerald Strebent at xtreme challenge 58 and Jonathan Alexander at EC Combat! Those guys are really great cans! How could you even compare BJS stand up to Sherk and call it even. What next Sean Sherk is an exciting finisher? Damn the last time he finished a UFC fighter was in 2002 and it was not even top level competition…BJ Penn wins this fight by submission by the 3rd round. Although I’d love to see Sherk get finished in the first 2 minutes trying to take penn down.
Dam!!! you know everything bro. How does one get as smart as you????
For one Penn’s stamina is a legitmate problem. Sure he says he’s got it working and he has training videos but it has not been tested yet and definetly by the likes of someone like Sherk. The only two losses on Sherk’s record come to two of the guys who also beat Penn. When Sherk lost to Hughes it was over 4 years ago. GSP is number 1 or 2 on every P4P list so that loss is also warrented. Also being off the roids would help Sherk if he were ever on them. Sherk has 34 fights under his belt and between the GSP and Hughes loss he either submitted everyone or beat them by TKO. Sherks last three fights have been decisions and they are against caliber fighters. Penn is smaller than Sherk and I would even contend that Sherks chin is more solid. BJ isn’t going to be able to control Sherk as well from the bottom based on Sherks size and wrestling ability. I think the fight goes to whoever gets the top position on the ground and also that this fight isn’t going to a decision period. If Penn is fresh all 5 rounds he should have no problem beating Sherk from what all of his fans say. If Penn gases anywhere in between Sherk will end it, and Penn will lose in a humiliating fashion. I think we should pull more facts up and use them here to compare. Who has Penn faced besides Hughes that closely relates to Sherk and his style? Well since it hasn’t been tested I think we should let Sherk and Penn do their talking. No matter if you want to contend that Sherk is a lnp he makes exciting fights. Florian was completely bloody at the end of the fight, Franca threw some of the most vicious knees and Sherk took it and kept the fight exciting. Sherk and Penn sell fights and they make them exciting. Stop trying to convince everyone Sherk will lose and just enjoy the damn fight.
Ummm…HELOO!?! Dude, did you watch the Florian fight? Youre right, Flo was covered in blood…but how can you give credit to Sherk for that when it was SHERK’S BLOOD?! It was the result of a well placed elbow from Flo when Sherk was laying in his guard, which he continued to do for the rest of the fight, all the while bleeding all over Kenny. Sherk’s part in the Franca fight was no more exciting than watching a NAGA or Grapplers Quest super-fight. I don’t disagree that he is an elite fighter, but he is a BORING fighter and that is why I hated having him as a champ. Either way, BJ’ll move back up to 170 and Sherk will have the belt again, probably having to face the fact that the belt will belong to BJ, who will have vacated it when he moves back up. Unfortunately, thats is a miserable fate for the 155 division to suffer, because there is so much exciting talent that just cant stand up to Sherk’s strength, takedowns, and ability to hold a guy down for 5 rounds.
good post!!
It’s not easy to submit a strong dude like Sherk(if he indeed remains that way). Cardio is a big issue. Some guys are better than others in cardio naturally, jsut like other things where you’re just borned gifted. Before U jump on me, let me clear my point and say that, yeah u can train for cardio but you’ll peak at sudden point. Where as BJ, Baroni,etc…. gas tanks will never be the same as of Sherk, Rush, or Hughes. so, I’m gonna call it like some of yall need and say, if it goes past 3rd, BJ is toast.
Advantage: Penn
Its nice to see the NSAC doing random testing on fighters. I am a firm believer that in ever sport there should be random drug testing through out season and off season (for fighters even in between fights show up randomly at gyms and test a few guys)
Random testing is one of the few ways to keep sports clean which they should be. Unless
I guess I should finish my sentance! lol
Anywho as I was going to say unless MLB or any other sport wanted to start their own seperate league where they admitted everyone was on roids and just let HR records get obliterated and end up with * besides names in record books lol
“The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) voted in favor of the extra measure because 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.”
haha, doesn’t this take the “randomness” out of it?
I think they meant the random timing of the test, not that Sherk and Penn were randomly selected for the test.
I understand that (hence the “haha” at the begining of the statement)
why does BJ get a random. Sherk is the one under the athletic commissions microscope. They should test Sherk randomly atleast once a week.
i hear ya. Bj’s been known to smoke weed here and there. I know it seems harmless but it was enough for the nsac to change the verdict at the gomi/diaz fight.
so now that they tested negative 3 weeks before the fight, sherk has time to load back up on HGH! hopefully they will get tested again after the fight..by ‘they’ i mean sherk…hope BJ ends his career and breaks his right arm!
Dude,
That’s a bit harsh and I am a BJ fan, bro.
word! I want sherk to get a beating but thats a bit much. Now Matt Hughes, is a different story, the things BJ is gonna do to him i cant even imagine, Hughes decided his own fate with that body lock and those punches.
Lol Hughes and Penn will never fight again. I am a huge Hughes fan and the reason is this. It will tarnish Hughes’ record. Also I think Hughes knows Penn will win the next fight if it happens, as well as most of his fans.
Any way in response to NEWFIE-MMA-FAN
They are testing after the fight as the normally do, and Sherks arms are almost the size of Penn I don’t think he’s gonna snap it of lol.
Lol Hughes and Penn will never fight again. I am a huge Hughes fan and the reason is this. It will tarnish Hughes’ record. Also I think Hughes knows Penn will win the next fight if it happens, as well as most of his fans.
Any way in response to NEWFIE-MMA-FAN
They are testing after the fight as the normally do, and Sherks arms are almost the size of Penn’s I don’t think he’s gonna snap it of lol.
The pay day bro, its the biggest one that hughes has left, there is no way that they wont fight again, no way. Hughes faught GSP for a third time knowing that GSP would work em! The only guy hughes would never fight again is “Superman” since hes already got the best out of three (2-0) there is no point but if he did that would tarnish his record and stance on top ten lists throughout history.
wow dudes chill out. I have absolutely no respect for sherk so who cares what happens to him. It is one thing to take steroids so you can run faster or hit more home runs, but its a different story when you are taking steroids so you can do more damage to your opponent in the octagon. That is a danmn crime if you ask me!!
They still get tested the night of the fight. This is just due diligence.
I’m kind of hoping that it goes to a full 5 rounds just so BJ can shut down all the people saying he has no cardio. 25mins of him putting a clinic on striking, jujitsu, gnp, takedown defense, and grappling would be awesome.
he should transition from gogo to heel hook for fun.
That would be amazing to see, I just don’t believe it will happen. No matter how much BJ trains his cardio, I don’t think it will ever be one of his strengths. If he were able to make it happen he would be almost unstoppable.
BJ by flying armbar 8 seconds into the 1st.
if that doesnt happen i say he gets the RNC late in the 3rd. props for both passing the random DT.
flying armbar is just silly against a guy with the ground game that Sherk has, but thats ok because im pretty sure you were joking.
i wouldnt count sherk out. i heard people say that on a good day, penn would beat him no prob, well you better hope he has a good day cause sherk has the advantage of going all five rounds. just hope bj can submit him cause we all know its going to the ground. then we will see if bj can back up his words. or will we see another gasses bj by third round.
*gassed*
sean sherk in 3rd or 4rd round bjs cardio sucks lol
You suck and so do your arguements . . . Come with something new, something creative man . . . GO TO BJPENN.COM AND WATCH THE VIDEOS OF HIS TRAINING AND SEE WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT CARDIO . . . The guy is doing 8 mile runs, uphill, at 8,000feet . . . ON HIS DAY’S OFF!!!! BJ BJ BJ!!!
A video of him doing it once, doesn’t mean he’s doing it all the time. I think he’s elite at 155 but he talks alot of dumb shit. He says on UFC.com that Sherk got beat buy a bigger stronger fighter in GSP and thats why he dropped to 155. Well Hughes pounded his face into the mat and after that HE! also went down to 155. We’ll see he’s going to look pretty stupid if he loses to Sherk.
Yea but is sherk ever going to move bach up???????? NO! BJ cant wait to move back up dude, there is a huge difference!! And BJ calls out GSP every chance he gets, i dont see Sherk ever calling out anyone that matters, especially not GSP for a rematch, huh, huh . . .
and BJ moved down for the sake of the TUF show and a chance to avenge a loss, his first loss. The best way to restart his career after the Hughes loss. Then another chance came along for another challenge hes faced his entire career, the LTWT title. If there was no TUF show or Pulver fight, he would have stayed at 170 for sure.
I just wonder what he’ll be like back at 170…his cardio was a bigger problem at 170 than it was at 155. Id like to see him stay in the shape he’s in and bulk up a little bit if he moves back up to 170. Hopefully we’ll never see the gut again. I don’t think he’ll ever be solid at 170, because that would be ALOT of muscle mass. As for him fighting GSP again…I dont know what to make of that fight. GSP is a MUCH better fighter now than he was then, and his ground game has made leaps and bounds, especially his wrestling. His striking doesnt seem to have changed, but we havent seen him land a hard punch or kick since he knocked out Hughes. I’d like to see it happen but I just cant see BJ winning that fight, especially because GSP has the mental advantage of having won the first one, even though BJ was the winner in my book. If it does happen, I’ll be pulling for BJ just like if he fought any other fighter. And I wish people would stop talking aout him fighting Anderson Silva…thats not going to happen.
What is his day off? Does he work in an office as well? Training is his job, he’s working whenever he’s traing. As for the 8 mile runs once weekly, lol. Get over it, it won’t do any good for BJ to push himself when its going to be Sherk pushing him. I do sincerly hope that Penn’s cardio is great and that this fight last 5 rounds. Whoever wins I hope its a blood bath.
Twist my words why dont you. Ill make it crystal then . . . Hes doing his training. And on his day off he doesnt take it, he does more. Fighters train 6 days a week in most cases, 2-3 times a day in different parts of MMA each training session. I guess youll twist this so why do i bother huh . . . “More?? whats more?? More cheeseburgers! Train? Whats train? Clicking the remote from his back to change the channel from the couch?” . . .
Mmmmmm………cheeseburgers.
Lol Crystal
I would say BJ by flying guillotine but Sherk’s neck looks like it belongs on a gorilla instead of a hobit.
BJ had no problem choking out Hughes, who’s just as thick.
No matter how hard he trains, B.j.’s cardio will never be a strong point. It will never be as good as Sherk’s. Every fight he has his fans say that he has been working on cardio, but even after the Stevenson fight he still looked winded. He has many attributes and skills, but everyone has a weakness. Everyone has genetic pluses and minuses. For instance, B.J. has insane flexibility, but he has very little if any muscle definition no matter how in shape he is.
you try controlling somone of Joes cardio for 9 strait minutes with a small break in there and tell me you dont need a second to catch your breath, do you think his skills are just there and he doesnt need air like some kind of terminator. The guy is just a man lke you and me. And its good thing he’ll only have to fight sherk once and not evert time he fights so its all good. I love that his opponents only have one angle, that says how great of a fighter he is!! You never hear “im gonna stand with him cause his punches dont hurt” or “His BJJ is a joke so ill take him to the ground and sub ‘em” LoL, i love BJ!!!
How many submissions from his back does BJ Penn have in his UFC career?
Sherk isn’t afraid of taking BJ to the mat.
When he Sub’d Joe/Jens/Matt/Gomi the RNC was with BJ having his back to the mat in both cases dude . . . If you mean from his gaurd literaly, good point, Jens would have been arm bared if BJ didnt let him out of it in the 2nd fight, and then BJ could have broke his left shoulder in the triangle he spun Jens into after the armbar, Matt almost lost his elbow in the 2nd fight (rib). An out of shape BJ attempts all sorts of entertaining cool sh*t, an in shape BJ will complete these attempts (if hes done toying with the guy and really wants to sub him and not just show off)
Lots of hypotheticals and hyperbole. Fact is, zero subs from his guard.
I’m glad BJ has fans to make excuses for his “near submissions”. BJ was man enough to admit he didn’t train enough and that’s why the pressure of Hughes hurt BJ, leading to Hughes smashing BJ with 32 unanswered punches from the Hughes crucifix position. Let’s hope BJ works on being in shape so that he won’t get injured again.
Personally I think people who say Penns cardio is or will be anywhere near Sherks are people who do not live what they talk about. BJ Penn could train for years and still not get the kind of cardio Sherk has, just like Sherk could train for years and not have BJ’s dexterity. A lot of these things are genetics. I work as a fitness advisor and sometimes you meet people with incredible attributes that others just will never achieve.
Sherk will always have much better cardio than BJ and 90% of the other fighters out there. All of these fighters nowadays have great cardio but no one can do what Sherk does (go 100% for 5 rounds), just like no one has BJ’s dexterity. This match will be a good one just by how the opponents differ. By the way for those who talk about roids being Sherks secret weapon, it doesn’t help your cardio, in fact it weakens it (by prematurely aging your heart).
who said its as good as seans . . . No one ever says that, ever dude! We just say it isnt an issue anymore, like hes not a fat slob anymore that just banks on his skills. You guys act like hes still hopped up on twinkies and blunts! Hes doing what a champ does as far as training goes and you haters cant stand it!! BJ BJ BJ !!!
It isn’t about haters. It’s about huggers.
“Sherk was present for the NSAC proceedings last month via telephone and agreed to submit the extra sample during the week of April 21.”
Wow how random and hard to beat!
The positive test is, at the very least, suspect. So I’m willing to give the benefit of doubt to Sherk.
I absolutly don’t like him, or his style of fighting, but due process was not followed in the collection and testing of his sample.
I have to therefore support the man as LW Champion.
I’m a huge BJ fan but….
BJ gassed in his 1st match with Jens Pulver.
Again in his battle with GSP.
Ditto for his rematch with Hughes.
All were fights in which he was dominant early.
If BJ had ANY decent level of cardio, he’d be the reigning Welterweight Champion.
His quick victory over the CHUMP, Joe “HOW DID I GET A TITLE SHOT” Stevenson, did nothing to convince anyone that BJ has addressed is achilles heel, which is to blow his wad early and gas out.
I hate to say it but, look for Sherk to lie on top of BJ a lot in the early rounds to wear him down, then pound him out in round 4 or 5.
nah…there will be no pounding out. If Sherk wins this fight it will NOT be by stoppage. Even if he wears BJ down, he’s not good enough to finish him. Just look at his track record. Go back through his fight history and see the last guy he actually finished. It was a LONG time ago, and I think it was in Pride. If there is one thing I would NEVER bet on, it would be Sherk’s finishing ability. Its a good thing for him he has the ability to work so hard for good cardio, because if he didnt, he’d never win a fight.
I checked…the last time Sherk finished a fight (in the UFC at least), was UFC 39!! That was in September of 2002! How did this guy even get the belt?!
Your screwing with the figures. Sherk only decisioned three people, all major contendors for the LW belt. In between his only two losses to Hughes and GSP he finished every fighter. Go to sherdog if you want to get accurate information.
I guess im one of those fans that only looks at the UFC as relevant…you make a good point. Thanks for correcting me.
Yeah bu tI pointed this out earlier finishing chumps b and c level fighters is much different then finishing a level fighters…So the last time he finish anything near an A level fighter was in 2002 with Benji Radach and that was a cut. People have great records all the time till they hit the big stage. Hell I submitted a bunch of elementary school kids yesterday, but I do not boast I finished 15 fights. It is his finishes on the big stage that are never present and he lays on top of all the A level fighters and hold on for dear life. Like a third rate carnival ride you always hang onto the lap or shoulder bars like they may open. That is how he fights A level fighters.
I looked at Sherdog and Da Monkey is right. Smokes must be high.
I’m not contending that those are top fighters but he did finish the fights. I have taken the time to look at each of those fighters individual records and I am not impressed. So in all honesty Sherk has finished many fights but not against top tier contenders. This fight however I do think will be different. Sherk and Penn will exhuast themselves trying to finish this, its not going to be a decision.
And I hate to agree with you. I want to see GSP fight BJ with 2 eyes throughout the fight, but the sad truth is Sherk will wear BJ down and finish him in the later rounds. BJ could take him out early, but the prior is more likely. No way this fight goes to decision.
I can’t wait to see what Sherk looks like at the weigh-ins. If he comes in looking no different (physically) than he has in the past, BJ could be in trouble dealing with his strength.