Talk about a WAR!!! This is going to be one hell of a fight. I think BJ will come out victorious but what a fight. Sherk talks about BJ not being able to get him down...what he didn't talk about was the fact that BJ is just as dangerous from his back. I just see BJ being better at everything in this fight with the exception of wrestling. But the thing about the wrestling is that BJ invites you to try a takedown....he loves that! Sherk will have to eat some knees to get it on the takedown.....I can't wait!!!Quote:
Sean Sherk to BJ Penn - Get ready for a war. PDF Print E-mail
MMAyou.com had the opportunity to speak with former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk as he prepares for his upcoming fight with BJ Penn. Check out what Sherk has to say regarding BJ Penn, his plans at 155, his fight with Hermes Franca, and more.
MMAyou.com: First, how are you doing?
Sherk: Doing good. Doing good. Just training hard, getting ready for show-time.
MMAyou.com: How is training coming along?
Sherk: It’s coming along great. I’ve only got another week of hard training left so now the hard hard hard stuff is pretty much done. Everything went great. I probably had one of the best training camps I’ve ever had.
MMAyou.com: Is this the most personal a fight has ever been for you?
Sherk: Yeah, definitely. BJ wanted to make this thing personal. He started talking a bunch of garbage about me. So, yeah. I’ve never had a fight that was personal before. I’ve always fought just for love of the competition. I grew up competing and I love training and I love to get out there and test myself. That’s what fighting is about me. It’s not about hatred and not liking somebody. It’s about testing myself mentally and physically.
BJ wanted to make this thing personal so it’s personal for me.
MMAyou.com: Do you think he made a mistake making this personal? It’s only going to fuel you to fight harder.
Sherk: Yeah, maybe he did, I dunno. It probably helps him train a little better too. It seems like he’s the kind of guy that likes to talk crap about everybody and bad mouth them and put em down. Maybe that makes himself train harder? He seems like the kind of guy that wants to hate you to fight you. Maybe it helps him out.
For me, I fight better and I train better if I don’t like somebody. Think about it, if you put fuel on the fire, I train hard the way it is, and you put fuel on top of that. It just makes things a little rough. I put myself through a harder training program, got myself more prepared, and I actually fight better pissed off to be honest with you.
MMAyou.com: The Penn camp seems to think that once BJ gets on the ground, you’re finished. Do you feel that you can avoid being on the bottom on the ground against him or do you feel that even if you end up there you will be okay?
Sherk: I don’t think he’s going to take me down to be honest with you. I’ve been wrestling my entire life and I don’t think he’s ever wrestled before. Maybe he thinks he can take me down, that’s great. He’s probably going to shoot on me. I’m wrestling with the you know, I got the University of Minnesota, the Gophers right down the street from where I work out. So I workout with these guys all the time. I’ve got three, four-time All-Americans, division 1 national champions, world-team guys, internationally ranked wrestlers wrestling with me all the time.
I don’t think BJ is going to take me down. He thinks cause Georges St. Pierre did it he can do it? I don’t think that’s the case. And if he does get on top of me, I’ve been on the mat since I was seven years old. I’m not uncomfortable on my back. Just cause nobody puts me there and he’s maybe never seen me there before except for the Georges St. Pierre fight.
I’m very comfortable on my back but putting me there is not going to be an easy tank. I think after he shoots and fails a couple of times he’s not going to have any gas tank left cause it takes a lot of energy to fail on a takedown.
MMAyou.com: I spoke to JD Penn yesterday and he feels that BJ is better then you in every aspect of the game. What do you have to say to that?
Sherk: Who’s JD Penn?
MMAyou.com: BJ’s older brother and manager and also an works with EliteXC.
Sherk: I don’t now. He’s never fought before has he?
MMAyou.com: He’s a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt but I don’t think he has fought before.
Sherk: Watching something on TV and doing it in real life is a little different. If you call my brother and ask my brother what he thought he’d probably say the same thing. Sean Sherk is better in every aspect of the game. Fight night will tell us everything you know?
BJ says this, he says that, he’s gonna do this, he’s gonna do that. We’re gonna fight in a week and a half and we’ll find out who the better fighter is. But I think he’s really underestimating my ability. I have twice as many fights as he does. I grew up training and wrestling. My work ethic is second to none. My heart is second to none. I have a lot of attributes he doesn’t have. I think it is going to be a more competitive fight then he gives me credit for.
MMAyou.com: Who do you feel has the better boxing in this fight?
Sherk: He’s showed in the past that he’s had good boxing. I’ve been boxing for a long time too and I’m not afraid to stand and trade with him at all. So, we’ll see. If the fight doesn’t go to the ground then we’ll get into a boxing match. Like I said before, we’ll see when we get out there.
MMAyou.com: In your fight against Hermes, you seemed to have many chances to take his back yet you never did. is there a reason for that?
Sherk: I was probably fighting too conservatively. I think there was one point in time, maybe even two, when I did take his back and ended up getting reversed. I think at that point in time I started fighting a conservative. Especially in that fifth round. I didn’t want to make any mistakes in that fifth round when I knew I had the fight wrapped up.
MMAyou.com: Would you like to rematch GSP if you ever moved back to 170 and if so what would be the game plan?
Sherk: I’ve got no intention of moving back up to 170. I’m really comfortable at 155. I walk around at 175lbs, that’s all the bigger I get. So there’s no reason for me to back up to 170 and I think Pierre is probably going to go up to 185 to be honest with you. He’s running out of guys to fight.
MMAyou.com: Do you have a message for BJ Penn?
Sherk: Get ready for a war. It’s going to be a great fight. I think it’s gonna be a war. I think the fans are in for a heck of a good fight and BJ’s gonna be tested.
MMAyou.com: Is there anything you would like to say to your fans?
Sherk: I’d like to thank the fans for all the continued support. All my true loyal fans, the people that support me through thick and thin. I appreciate the support and I’d like to thank the sponsors obviously. All my sponsors that stood by me through all the difficult times. MTX, Island Supplements, MMA Overload, Affliction, Warrior Wear, and all the guys at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.
Did I mention I can't wait for the fight?
