The Lowdown 05.09.09: Sean Sherk

Posted by Frank Fedele on 05.09.2009

Last week we looked at veteran Matt Hughes in anticipation of his fight in UFC 98 on May 23rd. This week on the Lowdown we will look a little lower down the card to lightweight Sean Sherk.

Last Week Roundup

Matt Hughes is a veteran of the Octagon and multiple time world champion. He has had a hard go of it in his last couple of fights. He tries to turn that around with a bout against Matt Serra. Serra is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and very slick with submissions on the ground. Serra has shown power with his striking by knocking out Georges St. Pierre as pointed out by a reader of the last column. If Serra can strike effectively, he could give Hughes some trouble.

This week in the Lowdown we are going to go to look a little lower down the card to a veteran fighter looking to move back up the lightweight ranks in Sean Sherk.

Background

Sherk is similar to last weeks fighter, Matt Hughes, as they both were primarily wrestlers in their early training. Sherk began training MMA with Greg Nelson's academy in his home state of Minnesota. He initially began in the welterweight division, but after losses to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre, he moved down to lightweight.

Sherk is known for his conditioning and his physique, earning the nickname the Muscle Shark. Sherk primarily works the take down game, looking to use his wrestling background to take his opponent to the mat and pound them out. His striking is decent, but his strength is not his stand up game. He looks to use his conditioning to outlast his opponent and pound them out when he gets his chance when they are tired.


Sherk showing why his nickname is the Muscle Shark

Sherk ran into troubles with a positive test for the steroid Nandrolone in 2007 after his fight with Hermes Franca. Sherk appealed the ruling and had his suspension reduced to six months. Sherk has been clean since this time.

Previous Fights

Sherk started his career in the UFC in the welterweight division with a fight in UFC 30 against Tiki Ghosn. Sherk beat Ghosn and then Jutaro Nakao in UFC 36. He moved up in competition in his next fight in UFC 39 against Benji Radach. He won that fight with a referee stoppage for a cut in the 1st round. Then Sherk really moved up in competition with a fight against Matt Hughes for the welterweight championship in UFC 42. Sherk was beaten in a decision, but kept fighting quality opposition by moving on to Georges St. Pierre in UFC 56 where he was knocked out in the second round. That is when Sherk decided it was time to move down in weight to lightweight.

Sherk started off strong in the lightweight division with a win against Nick Diaz in UFC 59. He then went on to beat Kenny Florian for the lightweight championship in UFC 64. Sherk won his next fight with Hermes Franca in UFC 73, but tested positive for steroids after the fight. He was stripped of the title, which was then won by B.J. Penn. Sherk wanted to fight Penn for the championship and was given the chance in UFC 84. The fight did not go well for Sherk as Penn peppered him with punches and stuffed his takedown attempts. Sherk was knocked out in the third round.


Penn knocking Sherk out in UFC 84

Sherk began his climb back up the lightweight ladder in UFC 90 with a win against Tyson Griffin. This was a good matchup for Sherk, as Griffin boasts the same type game as Sherk. Both a wrestlers that look to ground and pound. Sherk was basically able to out point him. Sherk has his next bout against Frank Edgar in UFC 98.


Next opponent Frank Edgar

Edgar's game is very similar to Sherk's, relying on his conditioning and wrestling to take his opponents out. This also seems like a perfect opponent for Sherk as he tries to do the same thing in the Octagon that he does. This will be a battle to see who's ground and pound game is best.

Sherks UFC Record
Welterweight
UFC 30: Win versus Tiki Ghosn by submission
UFC 36: Win versus Jutaro Nakao by decision
UFC 39: Win versus Benji Radach by TKO
UFC 42: Loss to Matt Hughes by decision
UFC 56: Loss to Georges St. Pierre by TKO

Lightweight
UFC 59: Win versus Nick Diaz by decision
UFC 64: Win versus Kenny Florian by decision
UFC 73: Win versus Hermes Franca by decision
UFC 84: Loss to B.J. Penn by TKO
UFC 90: Win versus Tyson Griffin by decision



The biggest issue I have with Sherk is he fights for the decision. Working is ground game, looking to take his opponent down and inflict punishment when he has them on the mat. This is not the most exciting match to watch and one of the reasons why I tend not to get too excited about seeing Sherk fight. Though I did enjoy seeing Penn knock him out.

Final Thoughts

Sherk is trying to slowly move his way back up the lightweight ladder to compete for the championship in the division. His last fight with Griffin helped that process and he hopes that his fight with Edgar will also. The UFC has been doing him favors by lining up opponents that fight a similar game to his. He seems to have troubles with strong strikers, as Penn was able to pick him to pieces. The good news for him in this division is there are a large number of wrestlers and Jiu Jitsu people and not too many strong strikers. Sherk's biggest problem will be the Penn still holds the title he wants. Unless he really changes his game and amps up his striking, he will not be able to beat Penn.

That is all for this week, please come back next week where we will get the lowdown on another MMA fighter that will be fighting in the UFC soon. Please take the time to bookmark 411mania.com. One quick step and all the news you need is but a click away.