Shogun, Sherk Make UFC 84 Card Great

According to different reports by MMAJunkie.com, both Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Sean Sherk have been added to a Montreal event in April. This same event is expected to host the title unification match between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra.

Shogun will be returning from his disappointing submission loss to Forrest Griffin and attempting to gain his first win inside the Octagon. Had Shogun won his fight at UFC 76, he would have been afforded an immediate title shot against Champion Quinton Jackson. Now, Shogun finds himself near the middle of a strong light heavyweight division and badly needing a win.

Even more urgent is the plight of Sean Sherk, who was stripped of his belt after testing positive for Nandrolone following his UFC 73 win against Hermes Franca. He has been told that his first fight back will be for the title, so this UFC 84 match up should be against either BJ Penn or Joe Stevenson. Sherk needs to win to gain back both his title and his credibility.

Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra round out the card with their UFC 69 rematch.

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Update: Franca's Suspension and Fine Upheld

Despite an apology and a request for a lighter sentence, luck was still no where to be found for Hermes Franca. The CSAC suspended Hermes France until July 5, 2008 along with a $2,500 fine.

Hermes Franca lost his title shot against Sean Sherk by a unanimous decision at UFC 73: Stacked on July 7.

On July 19, 2007, the CSAC announced that Franca had tested positive for the steroid Drostanolone in a post-fight drug test.

Sherk on the other hand, has filed for an extension on his hearing.

The Lianger

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Steroids Update: White Speaks About Sherk, Franca

In a recent interview conducted by ESPN The Magazine, Dana white is speaks about the recent steroid frenzy and his thoughts on the situation.

ESPN The Magazine conducted a pretty in-depth interview on White's thoughts on the steroid situation going on in the UFC.

White expresses his beliefs about UFC Lightweight champion Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk and Hermes Franca, both whom tested positive after their showdown at UFC 73.

Dana White's opinions about Sherk are the following:

ESPN The Magazine: How did you feel personally when Sherk [allegedly] flunked his test?
White: I've known Sean Sherk for a long time. He's a really good man. He trains hard and has worked hard to get where he's at. You and me probably have six nanograms [of the steroid Nandrolone] in our system; he had 12. Other guys who've been busted for the same steroid have had over 50 nanograms in their system. What my experts tell me is, there's no way that he would only have 12 in his system. I'm not his father. If he did it, he'll have to face the consequences. People make mistakes. If your life was over every time you make a mistake, that's pretty f---ing harsh. How many times do I have to tell people not to use steroids? It's to the point where it's just stupid.

A bit on the positive side, however, White couldn't have said the same for Sherk's challenger

ESPN The Magazine: One of the things Hermes Franca hinted at was that he was forced to take steroids because he had an injury but he had to fight.
White: That's one of the dumbest things ever said. He said he twisted his ankle. It happens all the time. He called us and said he was hurt. Two days later, he said he could fight. Nobody is ever forced to fight. I can go down the list and tell you 50 guys who've pulled out of fights because of an injury.

Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca will go before the CSAC in a hearing this Monday, August 6. Sherk will be appealing the steroid claims and Franca will be asking for a lighter sentence.

Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk is the UFC's current lightweight champion. Sherk won the lightweight title, vacant at the time, to Kenny Florian by unanimous decision at UFC 64: Unstoppable on Oct. 14, 2006. Sherk recently made his first title defense against challenger Hermes Franca at UFC 73: stacked on July 7, 2007. Sherk tested positive for Nandrolone Metabolite following his title defense, which he has chosen to appeal on August 6.

Hermes Franca was Sherk's challenger for the lightweight title and lost by unanimous decision. Franca was on an eight-fight-win streak before falling to Sean Sherk. Hermes Franca also tested for steroids after his bout with Sherk, which he will be asking for a lighter sentence for on August 6.

Franca had released an apology and confession prior to the tests to MMAWeekly.com.

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Sherk Releases Statement On Steroid Test

Last week, both UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca tested positive for steroids after their fight at UFC 73 Stacked on July 7. Franca had released his reasons for doing what he did to MMAWeekly.com, and now Sean Sherk has released statements of his own on the situation.

Sean Sherk has chosen to appeal the allegations that he used anabolic steroids. Today Sherk has remained to stand by his appeal and released his point of view on the situation in a press release:

"At the present time, I cannot explain the positive drug test in Sacramento, California," stated the UFC lightweight champion. "I know that I have never used any steroids or other banned substances, and I am investigating possible causes of the positive test with my attorney. I have never cheated, and all of my success has come from hard work and dedication to my sport."

Sherk's attorny, Howard Jacobs, will be representing him in his appeal against his suspension and fine.

The appeal will be in Los Angeles, held on August 6 at 10 A.M. Challenger Hermes Franca and Phil Baroni, who tested positive after his fight with Frank Shamrock at EliteXC, will also have their appeals heard.

The Lianger

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Hermes Apologizes; Sherk Appeals

As we all know, UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk recently tested positive for Nandrolone Metabolite following his title defense July 7, along with his challenger Hermes Franca. Both fighters have been fined and suspended for a year. Franca released a sincere apology on MMAWeekly.com however, Sherk has decided upon a different approach.

Hermes Franca has proved himself to be a class act. Franca has confessed and released a statement to MMAweekly.com, admitting that he knew he was going to fail the drug test.

Franca goes on to explain that eight weeks out from the fight, he endured a severe ankle injury that held him back from training to his full potential against Sherk. Franca requested a postponing of the fight to which the UFC denied. For this reason, Franca looked to steroids for his answer.

Here is a snippet from Franca's apology:

“At this point I was desperate and needed anything I could to get my injury as
close to healing as possible and be able to recover from the daily training
regimen I was going through. I made the shortsighted choice to hopefully
accelerate the healing process and allow me to keep training. Under the pressure
of literally not being able to pay next months bills I made a choice. I had to
fight and did whatever I could to do so.”

Franca continues by showing much regret for what he has done and how he has ultimately affected his family.

"I had not fought for 5 months. Fighting is literally how I put food on my wife
and childs table and how I pay my bills. As a fighter though, even at this
level, I live a simple life and I literally live from fight to fight. Not
getting a paycheck for another few months and losing my chance to fight Sean for
the title was overpowering. Fighting is the life I chose and I love it."

I feel pretty bad for Franca, but he chose to do what he did and unfortunately, he needs to face the consequences fair and square.

UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, on the other hand, has decided to take a different path in this steroid dilemma.

According to the Los Angeles Times , Sherk has appealed a one=year suspension and $2,500 fine that resulted from his UFC 73 failed drug test.

Sherk's hearding before CSAC will be held on August 6. After the hearing and a final ruling is reached, UFC President Dana White will decide whether or not the lightweight title will be stripped from Sean Sherk.

After retaining his UFC lightweight title with a unanimous decision over challenger Hermes Franca at UFC 73, CSAC announced that Sherk had failed his drug test, testing positive for Nandrolone Metabolite. Upon which he was suspended for a year and fined $2,500.

All this steroid bullshit is giving MMA such a bad name and horrible attention from the media, gaining much coverage from major news sites. I really hope this all blows over well and Sherk is stripped of the belt. I love Sherk, don't get me wrong, but he needs to be made an example of. The recent influx of steroids is getting ridiculous.

-The Lianger

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Drugs: A Rising Problem in MMA?

These days, drugs almost seem to be a part of a mixed martial artist's everyday diet. Recently we've had an influx of fighters testing positive for some form of substance. These fighters include UFC hall of famer Royce Gracie, Nick Diaz, Stephan Bonnar, Thiago Alves, Johnnie Morton, and more recently UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and his most recent challenger Hermes Franca. Unfortunately, drug abuse is becoming a major problem in MMA.

The California State Athletic Commission recently released drug testing results. As many as twenty-eight fighters licensed by CSAC have violated the state's anti-doping policy from March 31 through July 6 of 2007. What's more sad is that a whopping 71 percent are from mixed martial arts alone. Shocking to say the least, considering that MMA has 14 fewer cards than boxing and kickboxing combined.

The list released by CSAC does not specificy the type of failure to fighters of any discpline, however there were 28 violations reported, 9 of which are from steroids.

Many fighters however, tested positive for traces of Marijuana and even COCAINE. Yeah, brilliant.

So it seems everyone wants a piece of the drug bandwagon, it's like a freakin' epidemic. MMA receives enough negative light and having the substance abusers mostly coming from mixed martial artists does not particurlarly help the cause. In the past, steroids have not helped a fighters performance from a positive standpoint (i.e. Stephan Bonnar, Hermes Franca, Johnnie Morton, Melvin Guillard, etc.) but, fighters are still inclined to do them.

Well, hopefully this little trend will come to a halting stop soon. Here is the list released by CSAC, courtesy of Sherdog.com.

CSAC DRUG VIOLATIONS FROM 03/31/07 THROUGH 07/06/07
Total Violations: 28
Breakdown of Violations By Sport
Mixed Martial Arts: 20
Boxing: 5
Kickboxing: 2
Breakdown of Events Tested By Sport
Mixed Martial Arts: 17 (3, all athletes tested for drugs of abuse and steroids; 2, all athletes tested for drugs of abuse and random steroids; Remainder, random testing for drugs of abuse and steroids.)
Boxing: 28 (3, all athletes tested for drugs of abuse and steroids; 2, all athletes tested for drugs of abuse and random steroids; Remainder, random testing for drugs of abuse and steroids.) Kickboxing: 3 (Random testing for drugs of abuse and steroids.)

Total Steroid Violations: 9 Multiple Steroids in a Single Violation: 4 Breakdown of Steroid Violations
Elevated T/E Ratio: 4
Stanozolol Metabolite: 3
Boldenone Metabolite: 2 (Also known as Equipoise -- available only by prescription through veterinary clinics.)
Nandrolone Metabolite: 2
Prostanozol Metabolite: 1
Estra-4 9-dien-3 17-dione: 1
Desoxymethyltestosterone: 1

Total Drugs of Abuse Violations: 17 Multiple Drugs of Abuse in a Single Violation: 1 Breakdown of Drugs of Abuse
Marijuana: 13
Cocaine: 2
Methamphetamine: 2
Amphetamines: 1

Adulterated Drug Test: 1 (Athlete purposely altered with tap water in test kit -- confirmed by the laboratory.)

Refusal to Test: 1 (Considered a violation.)

Drugs are bad, kids,
The Lianger

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UFC 73: Silva, Sherk Retain Titles

UFC 73 Stacked certainly had its ups and downs. Labeled "best card in the history of combat sports," it failed to deliver what most fans anticipated so greatly and failed to fulfill the hype that was built around it.

The event took place Saturday, July 7, 2007 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California and had been regarded as UFC's most "stacked" card to date, no pun intended. The cards featured two title fights, one with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the other with lightweight champion Sean Sherk, both crowned at UFC 64. Last night, they defended their titles against former King of Pancrase Nathan Marquardt and former WEC champion Hermes Franca, respectively. Former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, also seen by many to be the #2 HW in the world, made his UFC debut against Heath Herring, whom he had already defeated twice before in PRIDE. UFC 73 also featured a light heavyweight showdown between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and The Ultimate Fighter 2 heavyweight winner Rashad Evans.

The card was free of upsets, for the most part and had a good balance of TKO/KO's submission victories, decisions and was even complimented with a draw. Here are my quick thoughts on the bigger fights:

Kenny Florian def. Alvin Robinson via Submission (strikes) at 4:30 of Round 1
Alvin Robinson was the more physically gifted fighter in this one, but it did him no good against the ever so tough Kenny Florian. A lean Florian showed crisp striking in the beginning of the round, after landing some sharp punches and knees. About a minute in the fight, it almost began to look like a judo tournament with the two fighters flipping each other like pancakes. Florian's experience in the Octagon and top notch jiu-jitsu skills was apparent as he effectively controlled Robinson on the ground. After some good exchanges, Florian obtained full mount with relative ease. Upon mount position, it was the beginning of the end for the UFC newcomer Robinson, as Florian pounded away with vicious elbow strikes and punches giving Robinson no option but to tap.

Florian has really impressed me lately and his improvement every time he time he steps into the Octagon is awe inspiring. With his impressive win over Mishima at UFC Fight Night 9 and his incredible five round war with the current UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, I only expect to see more great things in the future with Kenny Florian.
All in all, I give this fight 8 out of 10.

Anderson Silva (c) def. Nate Marquardt via TKO (strikes) at 4:50 of Round 1 to retain the MW title
This fight was one of the highlights of the night, next to the Sherk-Franca fight. Anderson Silva made his first official title defense against challenger and Pancrase veteran Nate Marquardt. Early in the match Silva threw what looked to be a kick straight out of a martial arts movie causing him to be taken down by the challenger. The decision wasn’t horrible as Silva was still delivered piercing elbows and punches, punishing the midsection of Marquardt. Marquardt did nothing on the ground and the fighters were brought back to their feet. Silva took advantage of every opening and landed a big straight left hand forcing Marquardt back to the ground. Silva showed a picture perfect sweep gaining him the dominant position where he reigned down crushing blow after blow. Big John McCarthy had seen enough and quickly stopped the fight, saving Marquardt's very life and skull.

This fight just continued to show the Brazilian's dominance in the UFC. Silva's striking of course was, like always, dead on and was able to display his ever-growing jiu-jitsu abilities through his sprawls and sweeps. With the win, Silva is expected to head over to Cincinnati, Ohio and where he will face Rich Franklin, who he took the belt from last October. I don't see Franklin posing a threat to Anderson Silva at all. Silva's ground game is more polished than Franklin and certainly has the edge standing. Silva is a force to be reckoned with and is going to be the middleweight champion for a long, long time.

I give this fight a 9/10!

-Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans fought to a Draw after 5 Rounds (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
There's not much to say about this fight, it was the biggest crock of cow dung to date. This match was maxed out by the hype that was poured into it, with the so called "bad blood" between the two and the little pushing incident they had a few events back. To what was hyped up to be a great fight turned out to be quite the contrary. Ortiz quickly began the bout scoring a double-leg takedown on The Ultimate Fighter 2 winner Rashad Evans. Tito did little to Evans as both lay on the canvas. Somewhere in the second round Ortiz held on to the cage preventing a takedown by Evans, costing him a point and in the end costing him the fight. After a tiresome three rounds, the fighter’s fates were left in the hands of the judges, whom unanimously deemed this fight a draw, all scoring it 28-28.

I'm not a big Tito fan, but I really wanted Tito to win this one. For one, Evans' little seizures standing up didn't help his cause. I am of course referring to the annoying hand waving, I guess distraction, Evans kept doing while they were standing. God that pissed me off. As a whole, the fight was frustrating to watch, neither did much to finish the fight and if Tito hadn't gotten that point deducted he would have had this one in his pocket. Oh well, can't win 'em all I suppose, literally. Tito in the post fight talk with Rogan said, "You know, they always say if you ain't cheating, you're not trying." That’s classic.
This fight makes it painfully obvious that Ortiz would have zero chance against current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson, who Ortiz is rumored to later face off with. Either way, Tito never fails to make me laugh with his pre and post fight antics and the corny little shirts he wears to the fights.

I give this fight a 4/10!

-Sean Sherk (c) def. Hermes Franca via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
Sherk and Franca certainly took the UFC 73 spotlight hands down. It was like watching a bully rob a helpless poor child for his lunch money.
Sean Sherk took no part in Franca's "unorthodox" striking in which he promptly overshadowed and neutralized with his lightning quick hands and unstoppable takedowns. Like many fights, cardio was the golden ticket in this fight.

The round began with an eager Sherk going for the takedown and nearly getting caught in a guillotine choke. Sherk muscled his way out of the choke and the punishment began as the now visibly angered Sherk had his way with the Brazilian challenger. Sherk dictated round after round as he took down and mounted Franca at will. The only silver lining Franca had were the four flush knees Sherk kept eating over and over, one of which nearly knocked out the champ. However, after the first two knees Sherk seemed almost immune to the knee strikes and continued his domination over Franca. The fight became like a broken record, as every round mimicked the previous one. The general breakdown of all five rounds were: Sherk eats a knee from Franca, Franca attempts a guillotine choke, Sherk muscles out, takes him down and proceeds to ground and pound a powerless Franca. It was unfortunate that Sherk wasn't able to finish Franca but, it was undoubtedly a lopsided fight in favor of Sherk and it came as no surprise as Bruce Buffer announced the judges' unanimous decision for UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk.

Sean Sherk's UFC All Access gave fans a glimpse of Sherk's dedication and hard work. Throughout the fight I was just in complete awe at the power and explosiveness of Sherk. I’m convinced that there is no possible way of putting another pound of muscle on a 155-pounder. Sherk’s overwhelming power was evident as he threw Franca around like a rag doll, at one point leg pressing Franca about three feet into the air, and able to impose any position he pleased. The golden ticket in this fight was not only the power difference but as I mentioned earlier, the cardio factor. Franca, though looked in top condition, couldn’t handle Sherk’s constant pressure and gassed quickly through the first two rounds while Sherk looked like he just stepped in the ring at the start of every round.

Sean Sherk seems to be one of the most dominant lightweights to ever hit the scene and aside from B.J. Penn I don't see a single lightweight in the UFC that poses any threat to him. It would definitely be interesting to see “The Prodigy” duke it out with the “Muscle Shark,” but that's for another time and another article! I give the Sherk-Franca fight an 8.5/10!

-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Heath Herring via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
One word summary, WOW. Nogueira, made his UFC debut facing Heath Herring, whom he already holds 2 wins over in PRIDE. A polished striker and top submission artist, Nogueira was dominant through the opening of the fight as he jabbed through Herring's defense and scored multiple takedowns. All was well until Herring decided to pull a Gonzaga and threw a head kick that sent Nogueira to the mat. At this point, I went into cardiac arrest, I thought it was over. As a matter of fact, if it was any other fight it would have been over but, referee Yves Lavine did us all a favor and allowed the fight to continue. Herring however did not take advantage of the situation and backed off allowing Nogueira to fully recover. After Nogueira finally realized he was at a UFC fight and not a Brazilian rave (as Bravo so elegantly put it), he persisted with his jabs at a visibly exhausted Herring. Outside of the heart rattling kick, the fight was one sided for Nogueira as he fought his way to a unanimous decision victory.

My God, I'm pretty sure my heart skipped two beats when Nogueira was knocked down. In Herring's defense, it was a bit unfair that the referee did not call the fight after the kick. If it were any other fight, I'm almost certain it would have been ruled a knockout. Yet, Herring is the only one to blame for not taking advantage of the situation and making the best of it. Herring lacks the killer instinct, the smell of blood that Wanderlei Silva and Fedor Emelianenko display in their fights. Nogueira must have had his bowl of Lucky Charms that morning and truly once again showed his undying heart. I'm eager to see more of Nogueira in the Octagon soon.

I give this fight a 7/10, deducting points because of the heart attack and emotional distress it brought me.

So, UFC 73 can't be called the best UFC card ever, but it was surely above average. As far as my predictions go, they weren't too off with the exception of the Sherk-Franca fight, God was I wrong about that one. Sorry?

That's all folks...L-Train OUT.

The Lianger

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UFC 73: Sherk-Franca Preview!

This weekend at UFC 73: Stacked, Sean Sherk will make his first title defense against number one contender Hermes Franca. Who's going to take it, you ask?

Hermes Franca was shunned by many after his three consecutive losses to Yves Edwards, Ray Cooper, and Koutetsu Boku. Many began to think Franca no longer had what it takes to hang with the big boys.

Instead of backing into a corner, Franca stepped it up. Franca started his own MMA team, Team Armory where he trains alongside Kurt Pellegrino, Eduardo Guedes and Raphael Chaves in Jupiter, Florida. Franca then went on a tear as he put out an impressive 8 fight winning streak at a variety of organizations such as the UFC, WEC, TC and the AFC.

Now Sherk on the other hand, has lead a rather successful MMA career, only falling to top names against welterweight favorites Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. Sherk now resides back in the ever-growing lightweight division, where he has yet to lose. Sherk retained the UFC lightweight champion title at UFC 64 against Kenny Florian, where the two swam around a bloodbath to reach the judges' decision.

Franca is a much tougher task for Sherk to conquer. Franca always comes in swinging for the fences and an unlimited arsenal of submissions in his pocket, both driven by his ultra-aggressiveness. Sherk however, has shown much improved striking abilities, quick hands and holds some mind-blowing takedowns and wrestling skills.

With Sherk known for his ineffectiveness off his back and inability to pass guard, Franca will surely look to take advantage and utilize his crafty BJJ skills. As far as on the feet, Sherk is not known for his one punch KOs, while Franca's in your face style has crumbled many opponents on the feet.

I don't really see Sherk able to punish Franca on the feet or too effectively on the ground for that matter. I'm going to have to go with the stream of upsets and lean towards Franca in this one. I see the two fighters trading bombs early, I envision Franca tagging Sherk with one of his ridiculous overhands rights , Sherk scoring some explosive take downs and then a battle on the ground.

Though I'm a big Sherk fan, I'm going to go head and pull a "Randy" and call Franca for the submission victory by triangle choke somewhere in the third round perhaps? I'm always very indecisive and unsure when it comes to predictions, but there you have it, this will most probably change sometime down the week.

Don't blink your eyes folks, this may very well be the fight of the night.

PREDICTION: Hermes Franca over Sean Sherk by submission (triangle choke or armbar), Round 3

The Lianger

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