Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans would never miss the shredded abdomen and massive trapezius of Sean Sherk. He looks every bit of a wrestler and on Oct. 14, 2006, Sherk rose to fame as he won the UFC lightweight title in Las Vegas. The raw power he possessed has helped him become on of the world’s elite martial artists.

Nearly after two years after testing positive for steroids, Sherk is back not to wrestle but to try out boxing. He also made a conscious decision to avoid wrestling and rely upon his standup. Even as a boy, he was trained and worked on boxing but he built his professional reputation as a powerful wrestler. Sherk is also showing other sides of his game, though it is also his goal to become the most complete fighter that he can. He’s also been working on a slew of new submission moves though it is still uncertain if he’ll be part in the black belt ceremony any time soon.

“The great thing about this sport is that, even after all these years as a pro fighter and 40 fights, I’m still learning and still adding a lot to my game,” Sherk said. “I relied on my wrestling for a long time in my career, but the way this sport has evolved, you really can’t be one-dimensional and compete at the highest level.”

Sherk boasts of his 37-3-1 record and his only losses have come to three of the best fighters in the UFC: Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre and Penn. These names have help the welterweight tilte at one point or another level. His almost flawless record clearly makes Sherk one of the wrestling’s top talents. And he will still prove to anyone that his record is the result of talent, hard work and genetics more so than from chemistry. After defending his title on July 4, 2007 over Hermes Franca, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) suspended Sherk for testing positive for Nandrolone Metabolite, an anabolic steroid.

Franca also tested positive for steroids after the fight. He immediately accepted the ruling and apologized for taking Drostanolone, to speed up his injured knee’s healing process.

Within 24 hours of his suspension, Sherk filed an appeal with the CSAC, denying his use of any illegal substances and had never even heard of the Nandrolone Metabolite drug. Both A and B samples of Sherk tested for levels of 12ng/ml of nandrolone. Normally, an adult will test for this kind of anabolic steroid at around 2ng/ml, while athletes with vigorous activities could test with levels reaching 6ng/ml.

Sherk has battled with the CSAC for seven months though court of appeals, media and the Internet. He also stated that he will never fight in California due to the unprofessional manner in which they dealt with his case.

He then managed to reduce the penalty for six months but the damage to his career, finances and personal reputation has been tarnished. He also lost significant money in sponsorships but his money has been regained after two years. “I lost tons of sponsors,” he said. “Basically, I can’t get a nutrition company to sponsor me. None of them want to touch me. I’ve had people straight up tell me they don’t want anything to do with me because of the steroid stuff.”

Meanwhile, Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, Sherk passed yet another test. He was randomly tested prior his UFC 98 bout together with Hughes, Edgar and Matt Serra. The result was a no surprise to Sherk and said he’s at least gratified that California has revamped its testing procedures after his case. Sherk wants to leave behind all the negative issues and be recognized for his accomplishments and not as a steroid user. Years after the controversy, he believes that he may finally be vindicated. He was even randomly chosen by Kizer for prefight testing.

“I’m becoming a better fighter all the time and I’m becoming more well-versed in all aspects,” Sherk said. “That’s usually not what people want to talk to me about, though. It’s not what some of these sponsors think. I understand where they’re coming from, but it’s frustrating for me because I’m an innocent party who has done nothing but work as hard as I possibly could to become as good as I possibly can.”

Trackback URI | Comments RSS