A Broken Man
by Michael Rome on May 29, 2008 1:06 AM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintListening to Sean Sherk's post-fight interview and his comments at the press conference, it became apparent to me that we were watching a broken man. The entire appeals process broke his spirit, and he is now so desparate to be liked again and to shed the stigma of steroids that he was willing to lose a fight to do so. Will it work? I doubt it. MMA Weekly's interview with him only confirmed my thoughts:
Following the fight, many questioned Sherk's strategy to remain standing with Penn. "I wanted to show everyone that I can box,” said Sherk. "People want to see diversity in this sport. I'm not a one-dimensional fighter like people think I am, and I came here with something to prove. "I wanted to gain respect back from the fans, first of all. Secondly, I wanted to give the fans something they paid for. People paid a lot of money to come see this fight, so I wanted to hopefully re-establish myself I guess is what I'm trying to say."
In other words, he did not fight his game because he wanted to have a very exciting fight that would win fans back over to him. He thought maybe that hanging with BJ standing would gain him some respect, and that maybe, just maybe, he'd hit that lucky punch necessary to win a slugfest.
I don't think his plan worked. I think fans still see him as a cheat. UFC's fans are delusional enough to believe it is only one fighter in the organization using performance-enhancing drugs, when everyone in the industry knows that they are quite widely used. I don't think he'll ever beat this stigma now, and I suspect he'll spend the rest of his career trying to live this ordeal down.
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Sherk a broken man
It certainly seemed that way. Public opinion will probably always be against him. Whether he took steroids or not, at this point the truth doesn’t matter because people see him as a cheat. I feel bad for him, cause I do believe in second chances. I guess his only option now is to make sure he stays clean and start winning again. Either that or quit.
Wait
You mean UFC fans, right? Because I’m not aware that there are any Sherk fans. Leading up to the fight I talked to more than one casual fan who wasn’t sure who he was. When they asked who he beat to get the title, I had to tell them Kenny Florian, and they all asked in different ways, “What the hell does that prove?”
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I’m a Sherk fan. Most of the people I watch events with are, too.
by Richard Wade on May 29, 2008 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Really?
What’s to like? He’s a great wrestler, and I certainly appreciate that, but to my mind his stand-up is dreadful, his BJJ is weak (good submission defense though), and the pound half of his ground and pound is anemic. What am I missing that appeals to you?
(And maybe it’s just me, but he epitomizes the sort of jock mentality that I equate with drunken frat-boys and rednecks reminiscing about high school football. Combined with the steroid thing, that may be why I don’t like him.)
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
We aren’t drunks, but we do live in East County. Also, we’re the kind of people who will watch amateur wrestling, so that gives you an idea of our tolerance for the “unexciting.”
by Richard Wade on May 30, 2008 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Baloney.
He had 2 choices where to fight BJ—
1. On the ground
2. Standing
At the end of the day, Sherk chose to stand against him, possibly fearing BJ’s ground game since he wrecked Joe Stevenson.
You never fight for anyone else but yourself. That’s a sure way to lose.
Exactly
So true. Where would it have been smart for Sean to fight BJ? At what skill set is BJ not going to completely tool him? I can’t think of any… And to ward off the silly replies: Cardio is not a skill set, and this isn’t a wrestling meet. Even if it were, there’s no evidence that Sherk can take BJ down: we’ve seen better wrestlers than him try and fail.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
Cardio is definitely a skill set. The ability to not only push the pace, and outlast your opponent is very important. Just look at Travis Lutter. Talented fighter, crappy cardio. The guy gases after one round. If a fighter gases, they’re a sitting duck.
How about this:
It’s an asset, but it’s not a skill. It’s not a technique, it’s something you possess. You don’t finish a fight with cardio, but it can help you outlast somebody else until you get to use actual skills to win. Fair?
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
Huh?
UFC’s fans are delusional enough to believe it is only one fighter in the organization using performance-enhancing drugs, when everyone in the industry knows that they are quite widely used.
Everybody in the industry knows that? I’d sure love to hear the source of that information.
And as for the delusional fans:
a) Are you not a UFC fan, or do you count yourself as delusional? If so, why should we trust what you right, oh delusion-prone, one?
b) I don’t think he’s the only fighter using performance enhancing drugs – I know for a FACT that Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Hermes Franca, and Royce Gracie have all done so. And how do I know that? Because they’ve been caught. Since I don’t know which other fighters might be cheating until such time as they get caught, I have to focus my rage and hatred on those who I can say with certainty are cheaters, and especially those that deny it against all evidence to the contrary. And that’d be Sean Sherk.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
To be fair...
False positive results have happened before. And not getting caught doesn’t mean you didn’t do anything. Has Barry Bonds ever “been caught” using anything?
Not to mention the fact that there are plenty of performance enhancing substances out there that wouldn’t show up on the tests that fighters have to pass. So plenty of guys could be on stuff and passing tests no problem.
And then add in the fact that a very large segment of the fighting world has never been tested and doesn’t run the risk of being tested…and yeah. PED use is considered to be known to be pretty widely used.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on May 29, 2008 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions
But you didn't address my point...
Does anybody still think Sherk got a false positive? Because maybe Michael’s right about the delusional thing. :-)
PED use is considered to be known to be pretty widely used.
Can we make that sentence more hedged and even more in the passive voice? Because you’re SO close to making a statement, and we don’t want to do that. The rallying cry of the forums is “Pics or it’s fake” and on Wikipedia it’s “[Citation Needed]” – so let’s see the stats!
But the “never caught,” “never tested,” “not testable” arguments are the point I was making: we know there are others out there, but we can’t disdain them if we don’t know who they are. So Sherk gets what he deserves because he was caught. When they catch Fedor, I can make fun of him. :-P
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
Damn
I hate when I’m replying to the last comment and forget to use the right box. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I’m not saying that I think Sherk got a false positive. I’m just saying that it remains a possibility and knowing what I know about the processes of athletic commissions it wouldn’t shock me.
Okay. Let me clarify my statement. Of people I know who I consider to be a part of the industry (a combination of fighters, promoters, managers, writers) whom I have talked about this subject with. The majority of them believe the use of PED’s to be fairly widespread.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on May 29, 2008 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Still.
Much better. Let me handle the over-the-top hyperbole around here. :-)
But it’s not as though the commissions are sitting around with test tubes and beakers running urine through a gas chromatograph (or whatever) – they contract that shit out. And of course accidents can happen, but there’s no evidence that they did outside of the word of a guy who totally looks like the product of a youth spent on HGH because his parents wanted him taller. I’m just sayin’.
It’s still just an open question though as far as everyone else is concerned. For Sherk it’s a definite: i can hate him because until there’s evidence that proves otherwise, we have evidence that he’s a cheat.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
Fair enough.
I’m not telling you to love the guy. You’re entitled to love or hate as you wish.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on May 29, 2008 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Your probably right, the people who follow the sport wont forget anytime soon, but I think the casual fan who catches a few fights down the road will only remember him as the guy who stood and lost to BJ penn. and even the most casual fan usually knows that BJ is a good fighter. So there is really no shame in that loss.
However, I disagree that Sherk was a broken man. Maybe he had a flawed game plan, maybe he was just being a guy. We see it all the time where guys want to prove themselves against great strikers. I mean how else do you know if your any good? I’d agree it wasn’t the smartest move and I was actually hoping to see him try to take BJ down.
all you gotta do is...
Heh
You know you’ve got a bunch of hardcore MMA fans when they bitch that there was too much stand-up and not enough take-downs. :-)
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
LOL, this is true jemaleddin!
I expected Sean to do his usual, “shoot through the guy” take downs, not sloppy single legs. None of the takedown attempts I saw convinced me he wanted to take him down. Why? Only Sean knows while we all sit here and contemplate, “what the H*LL was this guy thinking?”
all you gotta do is...
Well for one this ain’t BJ’s first rodeo. He baits the single leg in his fights on purpose… not to mention better wrestlers have failed to take him down. Its not like we haven’t seen guys like Nick Diaz stuff his takedowns before. Shaun was more in fear of the reversal which a non-gassed Penn would make. There is a reason Penn spent so much time training to hold the mount. His gameplan was to submit him just like everyone else thought he would.
I only have one thing to say about Sherk. He is ruined and I feel sorry for him.
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