Rivalries: Sean Sherk

Sean Sherk accomplished much with his powerfully built 5-foot-6 frame, even as he operated in the shadows of a few all-time greats.

“The Muscle Shark” enjoyed a long and distinguished career that covered more than a decade and saw him become the second undisputed lightweight titleholder in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. Sherk made his professional debut on June 19, 1999, won 31 of his first 33 bouts—many of them as an undersized welterweight—and later emerged as one of the sport’s premier competitors at 155 pounds. The St. Francis, Minnesota, native never suffered back-to-back defeats and retired in 2013 with a stellar 36-4-1 record.

As Sherk’s exploits inch further and further into the past, a look at some of the rivalries that helped shape his journey:

Georges St. Pierre

“Rush” authored one of his finest performances when he disposed of Sherk with punches and elbows in the second round of their UFC 56 showcase on Nov. 19, 2005 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. St. Pierre brought it to a close 2:53 into Round 2. He executed three takedowns—two in the first round, one in the second—against Sherk, then proceeded to systematically dismantle him with ground-and-pound. The situation grew from bad to worse to downright dire for “The Muscle Shark.” They exchanged punches at the start of Round 2 before St. Pierre sprawled on an attempted takedown and circled out into open space, where he stayed busy with his jab, tested the waters with a few head kicks and connected with a spinning back kick to the body. He took down Sherk roughly two minutes into the round and assaulted him with punches and elbows, increasing the intensity of his attack as he threw. The Minnesotan reacted audibly to two of the strikes, as blood began to gush from his nose. Referee Herb Dean warned Sherk to intelligently defend himself or risk being stopped before he stepped in to prevent further damage.

Kenny Florian

The UFC’s move to reinstitute its lightweight championship resulted in an outright bloodbath, as Sherk laid claim to the vacant title with a five-round unanimous verdict over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 finalist in the UFC 64 co-main event on Oct. 14, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45. Despite the one-sided nature of the decision, Sherk did not escape unscathed. He executed eight takedowns—four of them in the fifth round—and outstruck Florian by a 161-90 margin, all while piling up nearly 20 minutes of control time. However, Sherk absorbed a series of elbow strikes from his grounded counterpart, one of which opened a gnarly cut on the side of his forehead in Round 2. While efforts were made to stem the flow of blood, they ultimately proved futile. As a result, Sherk’s DNA was splattered all over himself, Florian and much of the canvas in one of the goriest battles in UFC history.

B.J. Penn

“The Prodigy” tied up some loose ends and retained the undisputed lightweight championship in the UFC 84 headliner, where he wiped out Sherk—“The Muscle Shark” had been stripped of the title less than a year earlier due to a positive test for performance enhancers—with a third-round knee strike and follow-up punches on May 24, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Hawaiian controlled the majority of the match with a punishing jab, keeping Sherk at bay while denying both of his attempted takedowns. The damage started to pile up in the third round, with Sherk bleeding from cuts near both eyes. In the waning seconds, Penn charged at the Greg Nelson protégé and blasted him with a flying knee that sent him careening into the fence. A semi-conscious but defenseless Sherk was then met with rapid-fire punches until the horn sounded. Penn declared he was done, and referee Mario Yamasaki agreed. He connected on 69% of his significant strikes in the 15-minute affair, outlanding Sherk by a 122-46 margin.

Frankie Edgar

“The Answer” announced his arrival as a serious contender when he took a unanimous decision from Sherk in their UFC 98 lightweight feature on May 23, 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Edgar. Just 27 years of age at the time, he utilized superior movement, controlled most of the standup exchanges and kept the oncoming Sherk at a preferred distance. Edgar, who wrestled collegiately at Clarion University in Pennsylvania, circled effectively and varied his strikes against the former champion. Sherk executed a takedown in the third round, but his efforts were short-circuited when his counterpart cinched an arm-in guillotine choke in the waning moments and closed in fine style. It was a brilliant defensive performance from the New Jersey native, as evidenced by the fact that Sherk connected on just 30 of the 207 strikes he attempted.