THE CANADIAN PRESS
The last time UFC lightweight Sean Sherk fought, he exited the building at speed after losing — and kept running.
It’s taken 16 months to find his way back, although not for want of trying. Injuries forced him to drop out of three fights.
Finally healthy again, the 37-year-old former champion takes on rising star Evan Dunham at UFC 119 in Indianapolis on Saturday.
“It’s been a long time,” Sherk said. “I’m itching, I’m ready to go.”
He’s also looking to erase the memory of losing a decision to Frankie (The Answer) Edgar last time out at UFC 98 in May 2009. A frustrated Sherk exited the cage and immediately left the MGM Grand Garden Arena to go for a run under the Vegas stars.
Sherk (37-4-1) has yet to watch the tape of that fight.
“That was a tough one,” he said. “That was a tough pill to swallow. I look at all my other losses and the other guys, they beat the hell out of me.
“And I just kind of felt I just spent the entire fight chasing the guy (Edgar) around. That’s not how I want to get beat. If I get beat, I want someone to beat me up. So that was the most frustrating part about it, was that I walked out of the Octagon pretty much unscathed and felt like I didn’t really get into a fight.
“So that was my issue with that fight. It is what is and he was able to execute his game plan and he got the W.”
Sherk could probably swap stories with B.J. Penn, who lost his title and two fights to the mobile Edgar this year.
“I didn’t see those fights either, so I don’t really know what went down,” Sherk admitted.
Last October, a separated shoulder prevented Sherk from facing Gleison Tibau at UFC 104. In January, a cut forehead in training stopped him from keeping a date with Jim Miller at UFC 108. He also turned down a March bout with Clay Guida, because of lingering injuries.
His run of bad luck prompted one headline writer to suggest: Sean Sherk Is Chasing James Irvin’s ‘Most Cursed’ Title
“It’s tough,” Sherk said. “You’re training for a fight, you’re ready for a fight, you want to fight and then you get hurt. That’s no fun.
“But I don’t think I would say I’ve been cursed. I’ve been fighting professionally for 11 years, I’ve got 42 professional fights and I’ve been pulled out of two fights in 11 years. And it just so happens those two fights were back-to-back. It’s not a curse by any means, it’s just the way it is. We play rough and sometimes you get hurt.”
The five-foot-six Sherk, who had a previous surgery on the same shoulder, was hurt in training when he landed on the shoulder. This time, the joint just needed rest and rehab.
Only a handful of select fighters have beaten Sherk: Edgar, Penn, Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes (the latter two at welterweight). All are current or former champions.
He is 7-4 in the UFC, a career that was derailed by a positive drug test after UFC 73 that cost him his 155-pound title. Sherk has always maintained he never cheated.
The 28-year-old Dunham (11-0) is 4-0 in the UFC and coming off impressive wins over Tyson Griffin and Efrain Escudero.
“He’s tough, he’s up and coming, he’s undefeated … I’ve been studying tape and I’ve been training my butt off,” said Sherk.
Sherk started that homework after he got the call.
“To be honest when they offered me the fight with Dunham, I didn’t know who he was and I just said ‘OK, sounds good.’ I didn’t even look into it. I just wanted to fight and I accepted the fight, not knowing who he was.
“After I started watching some video, I’m like ‘All right, OK, this is going to be a tough fight. So I better get my ass going and train like I always do. If I do that, then there’s nothing to worry about. I know I can hang with the best in the world, I can beat the best in the world.
“So nothing’s changed on my end.”
Sherk expects his experience to come into play.
“I’ve been in a lot of wars, where he probably hasn’t.”
