The Shark Smells Blood: Why BJ Penn is Confident, and Why Sherk is Too

No fighter ever goes into a fight without thinking that he will win. Well, no fighter except Kalib Starnes, but he’s not fighting for the UFC lightweight title in a month.

BJ Penn and Sean Sherk are two of the greatest pound for pound fighters in the world, and yet they couldn’t be more different. Penn is one of the greatest jiu-jitsu technicians on the planet, he’s limber and he’s agile. He strikes with finesse and versatility and shows some of the best technical savvy out there.

Sherk’s a technician too, but no one talks about his technique. He’s a wrestler, phenomenally skilled, but if you looked at him, you see a man built like a Greek statue, if the Greeks had been sponsored by Balco.

Sherk has one of the most incredibly athletic, potently strong games in the sport. He dominates opponents with sheer force of will and the muscle to back it up. His arms are like freakish inflatables and even when he was fighting at 170 pounds, he was considered by many to be one of the most physically dominant fighters in the division, losing only to the top two warriors of the era: Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre.

Some people think that the 155 pound division was built for Sean Sherk, but whether that is true or not, it has certainly become his pond, and he’s dominated it viciously.

Sherk’s only problem, and the only reason to question his dominance, came after he tested positive for steroids against Hermes Franca, and while Sherk was stripped of his title and suspended, he has been quick to deny the accusations, even taking a follow-up test that was negative.

Whether or not Sherk took steroids has everything to do wit this fight, as it will reveal whether the freakish physical specimen we have come to expect from Sherk shows up, or whether he is coming out to play with a serious disadvantage, weaning himself off of the juice.

We will see whether or not Sherk’s conditioning is what it once was, and some of us will question Sherk’s ability when it comes to handling a jiu-jitsu monster as quick and flexible as Penn. Certainly, if anyone is going to give Sherk trouble off of his back, it’s going to be the warrior from Hilo.

The fight is impending, at this point, and we’ll see soon who really deserves to win the UFC lightweight division. It will be a war between two top fighters who have danced around each other for a long time, and who’s smack talk has made clear there’s no love lost.

Personally, this is one of the best matchups the UFC has offered in a while, and I’m looking forward to it.