Sean Sherk - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sean Keith Sherk is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

fighter currently fighting for the UFC

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. He holds notable wins over Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin

Tyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...

, Hermes Franca

Hermes Franca

Hermes França Barros is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight.-Early career:França made his professional MMA debut in November 2001. He quickly earned an undefeated streak of 6-0, drawing the attention of the UFC.-First UFC run:...

, Karo Parisyan

Karo Parisyan

Karapet Parisyan is an Armenian-American mixed martial artist. From his days as a UFC mainstay Karo holds notable wins over Ryo Chonan, Shonie Carter, Drew Fickett, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Chris Lytle, Nick Diaz and Antonio McKee.- Early life:...

, Manvel Gamburyan

Manvel Gamburyan

Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan is an Armenian American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5. Besides The Ultimate Fighter, Gamburyan has fought for notable promotions such as King of the Cage and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Gamburyan is fighting in the...

, Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian

Kenneth Alan Florian is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and...

, Nick Diaz

Nick Díaz

Nicholas Robert Diaz is an American mixed martial artist. He is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, WEC and IFC Welterweight Champion. He has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships and Elite Xtreme Combat. Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian...

and Evan Dunham

Evan Dunham

Evan Dunham is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in their lightweight division...

. His only four MMA losses are to former UFC champions BJ Penn, Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes (fighter)

Matthew Allen Hughes is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer, and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion. Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two occasions, defended the belt a record seven times, and holds the...

, and current UFC champions Georges St. Pierre

Georges St. Pierre

Georges St-Pierre , often referred to as GSP, is a Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St-Pierre is ranked as the No. 1 Welterweight in the world according to Sherdog, MMAWeekly and numerous other publications. St-Pierre is ranked the No. 2 pound for...

and Frankie Edgar. He has never been submitted.

Sherk began fighting MMA in June 1999, where he originally fought at the welterweight

Welterweight (MMA)

The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...

weight-class. During his time as a welterweight, Sherk suffered two losses; one to Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes (fighter)

and one to Georges St. Pierre

Georges St. Pierre

. In 2006, Sherk decided to drop down to the lightweight

Lightweight (MMA)

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...

class of 155 lb

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

. In his first fight as a lightweight, Sherk defeated Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian

to become the first UFC Lightweight Champion in over four years. After his first successful defense with the title, Sherk was stripped of the title after testing positive for steroids, an accusation he unsuccessfully fought against in a series of hearings. Upon his return in May 2008, Sherk failed to win back the title from then champion, B.J. Penn.

Martial arts background

Sherk was born on August 5, 1973, in St. Francis, Minnesota

St. Francis, Minnesota

As of the census of 2009, there were 7,298 people, 1,638 households, and 1,300 families residing in the city. The population density was 210.6 people per square mile . There were 1,686 housing units at an average density of 72.3 per square mile...

. Sherk began wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

at age seven. He continued to wrestle for eleven years, and in that time he wrestled over 400 matches. After finding Greg Nelson's Minnesota Martial Arts Academy

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy is a martial arts training center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota that was founded in 1992 by Greg Nelson, a former NCAA Division 1 wrestler at the University of Minnesota.-History:...

in 1994, Sherk began to practice boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, shoot wrestling

Shoot wrestling

Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that has its origins in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to utilize more realistic or "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their excitement...

, and Muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

. In 1999, Sherk defeated Roscoe Ostyn by decision in his first MMA fight.

Mixed martial arts career

Sherk began his mixed martial arts career in 1999, where he went on an eight-fight win streak before signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

(UFC) in 2001. Sherk fought only two fights before leaving the UFC. He eventually came back and fought Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes (fighter)

for the UFC Welterweight Championship. He lost the match and went on to sign with Pride Fighting Championships (Pride).

UFC (2001–2003)

Sherk made his UFC debut at UFC 30
UFC 30
UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 23, 2001...

, where he defeated Tiki Ghosn

Tiki Ghosn

Tiki Ghosn is an American mixed martial artist veteran, competing since 1998 in the Welterweight division .-History:Tiki started his MMA career in high school when he discovered Muay Thai Kickboxing as a form of cross training for football, while attending MaterDei High School in Santa Ana,...

. After going 5–0–1 outside the UFC, he was brought back to fight Jutaro Nakao at UFC 36
UFC 36
UFC 36: Worlds Collide was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on March 22, 2002...

, a fight which Sherk won via unanimous decision. On September 27, 2002, at UFC 39
UFC 39
UFC 39: The Warriors Return was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 27, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut...

, Sherk defeated Benji Radach

Benji Radach

Benji Russell Radach is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He is a former member of the Los Angeles Anacondas of the International Fight League.-Biography:...

when the fight was stopped due to a cut Radach had received.

Sherk was then chosen to fight Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes (fighter)

for the UFC Welterweight Championship on April 25, 2003. Sherk lost the fight via unanimous decision after going five five-minute rounds. In a back and forth battle, Sherk won two of the overall five rounds, becoming the first and only fighter to ever fight a full five round fight with then-champion Matt Hughes.

Pride (2004)

Following his loss to Hughes, Sherk fought three more times in 2003, winning all three bouts. In 2004, he signed with Pride and made his debut with the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese-based organization at Pride Bushido 2
PRIDE Bushido 2
Pride Bushido 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on February 15, 2004.- Mu Bae Choi vs. Yusuke Imamura:...

. Sherk defeated Ryuki Ueyama

Ryuki Ueyama

Ryuki Ueyama is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division. He has fought for organisations such as; Fighting Network RINGS, DEEP, Pancrase, Hero's and Pride FC.-Fighting Network RINGS :...

via unanimous decision, in what was his only outing in the company.

According to Sherk's website, the Japanese fans are the ones responsible for giving him the nickname "The Muscle Shark." While he was popular in Japan, Sherk found it difficult to travel and support his family and found he could make a better living fighting as a main event on local shows. He also cited his lack of health insurance for making this decision.

Return to the UFC and Controversial Accusations. (2005–present)

Sherk was invited back to the UFC in 2005 for a fight with Georges St. Pierre. Sherk lost by TKO, but was given another fight in the UFC at UFC 59
UFC 59
UFC 59: Reality Check was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 15, 2006 at Arrowhead Pond, in Anaheim, California, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada....

, Sherk demonstrated that he was able to stand and strike with the more documented striker in Nick Diaz as well as mixing his combination very well with his takedowns, he defeated Nick Diaz

Nick Díaz

via unanimous decision. During the post-fight interview, Sherk stated his intention to drop down in weight to the lightweight division.

In October 2006, at UFC 64
UFC 64
UFC 64: Unstoppable was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and...

, Sherk won all five rounds using his superior wrestling and ground and pound and defeated Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian

via unanimous decision to win the UFC Lightweight Championship. With this win, Sherk became the first UFC Lightweight Champion since Jens Pulver

Jens Pulver

Jens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...

vacated the title in 2002. Sherk fought the bout with a torn rotator cuff

Rotator cuff

In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...

and was forced to rehabilitate

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

afterwards.

In July 2007, Sherk successfully defended his title against Hermes Franca

Hermes Franca

at UFC 73
UFC 73
UFC 73: Stacked was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . It took place on July 7, 2007 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California and featured a total of nine bouts: four on the preliminary card and five on the main card. In the main event, Anderson Silva put...

. After the fight, the California State Athletic Commission

California State Athletic Commission

The California State Athletic Commission regulates professional boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events....

(CSAC) announced that Sherk had tested positive for Nandrolone

Nandrolone

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid that may be present naturally in the human body, albeit in minute quantities of less than 0.4 ng/ml. Nandrolone is most commonly sold commercially as its decanoate ester and less commonly as a phenylpropionate ester...

, a banned steroid, in a urine test

Urinalysis

A urinalysis , also known as Routine and Microscopy , is an array of tests performed on urine, and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis...

the day prior to the fight. After testing positive for 12 ng/ml of Nandrolone, Sherk was fined $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

2,500 and suspended from competing in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

for one year. Sherk's suspension was reduced to six months after appealing his allegations on December 4, 2007, making him eligible to fight in early January 2008. Sherk claimed errors were made in lab testing procedures. He claimed that failure of the lab to properly test the vials used in the earlier, positive tests for any remaining steroid content may have resulted in his sample becoming contaminated. However, Quest Diagnostics and the CSAC denied any errors were made.
Following the CSAC's decision to uphold the results of the positive steroid test, the UFC officially stripped Sherk of his Lightweight Championship. At UFC 80
UFC 80
UFC 80: Rapid Fire was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , that took place on January 19, 2008 at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.-Background:...

, B.J. Penn defeated Joe Stevenson

Joe Stevenson

Joseph Christopher Stevenson is an American mixed martial artist fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada. Competing as a welterweight, he won The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight tournament. Stevenson fought most of his UFC career as a lightweight, and made his featherweight debut at UFC Live: Kongo vs....

to win the vacant title. After the fight, UFC president Dana White

Dana White

Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...

announced that Penn's first title defense would be against Sherk, who was reinstated by UFC in April 2008, and has tested clean ever since. Sherk and Penn fought at UFC 84
UFC 84
UFC 84: Ill Will was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 24, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Overview:...

on May 24, 2008. Sherk lost by TKO after being caught by a flying knee and multiple clean shots to the face. Sherk was unable to continue at the end of the third round. Despite officially surviving the third, he was unable to continue into the fourth round and thus it was declared a TKO stoppage.

After UFC 84

Sherk fought Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin

Tyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...

at UFC 90: Silva vs Cote, in a fight with title contention implications. In a three-round war, Sherk won by unanimous decision, earning him Fight of the Night. In the first round Sherk was putting the pressure on Griffin from the very beginning scoring take-downs and taking Griffins back. Throughout the second and third rounds Sherk took Griffin down once more and the rest remained an exciting striking battle between the two. Sherk demonstrated very crisp and technical striking that night.

Sherk next fought Frankie Edgar at UFC 98 losing via unanimous decision. Sherk again found himself in trouble with an athletic commission post fight, after he ran from the arena before supplying a post fight urinalysis

Urinalysis

A urinalysis , also known as Routine and Microscopy , is an array of tests performed on urine, and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis...

. He was contacted by commission officer Keith Kizer and told to return to the arena immediately or face his license being revoked. Sherk returned within the hour and provided a urinalysis and tested clean, but was still suspended 45 days for the actions.

Injury plague hits

Sherk was scheduled to face Gleison Tibau

Gleison Tibau

Janigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is one of the largest lightweights in MMA, weighing up to 183 pounds by the time he enters the cage.-Mixed martial arts:He was brought up...

at UFC 104

UFC 104

UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 24, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.-Background:...

, but was forced off the card with an injury. He was replaced by Josh Neer

Josh Neer

Joshua Martin Neer is an American mixed martial artist from Des Moines, Iowa who is currently under contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championships. He trains at The LifeLine Youth Foundation and The Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Des Moines, Iowa. Neer is formerly an MFS Elite fighter...

.

Sherk was scheduled to face Rafaello Oliveira

Rafaello Oliveira

Rafaello Oliveira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He fights at and trains at in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.- Mixed martial arts career :Rafaello started his professional MMA career in 2004, competing in his native Brazil....

on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108

UFC 108

UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.- Background :...

. However, due to an injury to Tyson Griffin, Sherk was promoted to the main card to fight Jim Miller

Jim Miller (fighter)

James Andrew Miller is an American mixed martial artist. He has held the Cage Fury Fighting Championships Lightweight Championship and Reality Fighting Featherweight Championship. He currently fights for the UFC's lightweight division. He is the younger brother of fellow MMA fighter Dan Miller...

. Sherk did not compete at UFC 108, pulling out due to injury. Sherk suffered a cut above his right eye requiring several stitches.

Sherk was expected to face Clay Guida

Clay Guida

Clayton Charles Guida is an American mixed martial artist and currently fighting in the UFC as a lightweight. Guida was the first Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and held the title until being defeated by Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Revenge...

on March 21, 2010 at UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones, but Sherk was forced off the card with yet another injury.

Return to the Octagon

After a 16 month hiatus, Sherk returned on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119

UFC 119

UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 25, 2010, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The event was the first that the UFC hosted in Indiana.-Background:...

and defeated Evan Dunham

Evan Dunham

Evan Dunham is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in their lightweight division...

via split decision in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.

Sherk was planning a fall 2011 return after rehabbing past injuries, but no fights for him came to fruition and he's now rumoured to face Clay Guida

Clay Guida

at UFC 143

UFC 143

UFC 143 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event is expected to take place on February 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Announced bouts:...

Personal life

Sherk and his wife have two sons, Kyler and Tegan. He currently coaches a team of fighters at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
- Fight Of The Night (Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Win
|align=center| 36–4–1
|

Evan Dunham

Evan Dunham is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in their lightweight division...

| Decision (split)
| UFC 119

UFC 119

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

Martial arts background

Mixed martial arts career

UFC (2001–2003)

Pride (2004)

Return to the UFC and Controversial Accusations. (2005–present)

After UFC 84

Injury plague hits

Return to the Octagon

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

External links