Sean Sherk at the crossroads

After suffering only the third defeat of his career to BJ Penn at UFC 84 there are suddenly many questions surrounding the future of Sean Sherk. There is no doubt Penn proved he was the better of the two fighters and that his reign as champion in the lightweight division is well deserved.  But where does that leave Sherk? An even deeper question:  Will Sherk attempt to climb back up the ladder to earn another title shot, or are his days as a championship level fighter behind him?  With fighters such as Thiago Tavares, Roger Huerta, and Kenny Florian at the top of the weight class it could be a while before Sherk could work his way back into contention, if he could even do so with such deep roster of talent.

Sean Sherk started his MMA career in 1999 at the Dangerzone MMA Event held in Bonville, Minnesota and proceeded to go on a twelve fight winning streak which included 2 wins over fellow UFC competitor Karo Parisyan. Sherk made his octagon debut at UFC 30 where he faced and defeated Tiki Ghosn. He continued to fight in other promotions going 5-0-1 outside of the UFC before making his return at UFC 36 where he defeated Jutaro Nakao by decision. After a couple more dominant wins he earned a shot at Matt Hughes for the welterweight championship. Although he lost by decision, he was the first fighter ever to go a full five rounds with the then champion Hughes giving notice that his best was yet to come.

In 2006, Sherk beat Kenny Florian at UFC 64 by unanimous decision to win the vacant lightweight championship. After successfully defending his title against Hermes Franca at UFC 73, Sherk was suspended for testing positive for Nanodrine in a post fight drug screening. Sherk claimed he was innocent and stated that he passed three lie detector tests confirming he did not knowingly take steroids. Sherk appealed the suspension, but the California State Athletic Commission upheld its decision. Sherk’s suspension was reduced to six months but was ultimately stripped of the title.

At UFC 80 BJ Penn faced Joe Stevenson for the “legitimateâ€? lightweight championship rather than an “interimâ€? title as was the case in the heavyweight division following the departure of Randy Couture. Penn won the match and immediately called out Sherk sayng “…Sean Sherk, you are deadâ€?. With plenty of words exchanged between the two fighters and even more media hype, this match was built up to be a blockbuster. BJ Penn won the contest via TKO and handed Sherk only the third loss of his career.

The St. Francis, Minnesota native has had a career that most fighters could only dream of up to this point, posting a 32-3-1 record. He’s known for his amazing cardio conditioning and stamina, a product of a brutal training regime.  A convincing case could be made that Sherk is the best conditioned fighter in the entire sport. Nevertheless, could it be time for the former UFC lightweight champion to call it quits? There is no doubt that Sherk has been one the best fighters in his weight class over the past decade, but with all the young talent in the UFC does he still have that competitive fire burning to help keep him in championship contention, or is he no longer relevant to that discussion? And with the level of competition in UFC lightweight division, its more likely that Sherk will be on the wrong end of other fighter’s highlight reels than it is that he could further enhance his legacy.

Many fighters hit this “crossroadsâ€?, forcing them to make arguably the toughest decision of their careers: Should they call it a career and retire or do they still have what it takes to compete at a championship level? Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz have proven that making that last attempt at recapturing a title can be much more difficult than expected. Both Hughes and Ortiz have had illustrious careers, but have suffered several decisive losses in their attempts to regain their championships. So will Sean Sherk another cautionary tale of fighters that have hung on too long, or can he rebound to achieve MMA greatness once again? Like the old saying goes…only time will tell.

Time, however, is a fighter’s greatest enemy.