Sherk Faces Both Penn and Steroid Issue

When Sean Sherk steps into the Octagon at UFC 84 tonight for his lightweight title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he'll be fighting more than just his opponent, B.J. Penn. He'll be fighting to salvage his reputation.

A year ago at this time, Sherk was the lightweight champ, having won the belt in October 2006 with a unanimous decision over Kenny Florian in UFC 64. He defended his title in July of last year and won, garnering another unanimous decision in a five-round fight against Hermes Franca.

But Sherk, 34, tested positive for anabolic steroids in a post-fight drug test (as did Franca), and the California State Athletic Commission stripped him of his title in December. His suspension, originally a year, was reduced to six months and ended in January, and now the former champ will look to take back the belt that Penn won in UFC 80 with a second-round submission victory over Joe Stevenson.

Sherk (5-2 in UFC bouts, 32-2-1 overall) officially was reinstated by UFC in April. He has denied all along that he knowingly used the steroid nandrolone, despite the fact that his nandrolone level was six times more than a normal human's, according to World Anti Doping Administration standards. Sherk claims errors were made in lab testing procedures, and he states that he passed three lie detector tests confirming his innocence.

"I know what I did and didn't do," Sherk said in a pre-fight news conference last week. "And I proved myself. I went above and beyond what it took for me to prove myself innocent.

"I didn't take anything and the California Commission I think knows I didn't take anything, too. It's a situation I've had to deal with for nine months now. I've come to terms with it. So there, you heard it, Sean Sherk has never done steroids in his life. You heard it first. Right here."

Penn, an outstanding 29-year-old jujitsu fighter from Hawaii, has been critical of Sherk and his steroid abuse over the past few months. That tone didn't waver at the news conference last week.

"It's hard for me, a guy who has never used performance enhancement drugs before, when you find out that someone else is using performance enhancing drugs. It's just unbelievable. It just gets to you after a while," said Penn, who is 7-3-1 in UFC fights, 12-4-1 overall. "I'm really sure that I'm a purist and fighting is all I live for."

Penn is five years younger and three inches taller than Sherk and previously fought as a welterweight (170 pounds), middleweight (185) and light heavyweight (205) before dropping pounds to get a title shot in the lightweight division.

-- Dave Yanovitz