Where does Sean Sherk rank all time LW/WW? He was the blueprint for the wrestle boxer cardio archetype

Sean Sherk really was the blueprint for a strong wrestle boxer with amazing cardio.

LW
BJ Penn
Khabib
Oliveria
Sherk
Frankie


WW

Usman
GSP
Leon
Hughes
Woodley
Lawler
RDA
Sherk
If Sean Sherk had regular human length arms instead of T Rex arms, he would have been a more dominant champ. Not everyone can be a GOAT while having short arms like Artem Lobov

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He's in a similar spot as Kabob in he didn't fight the top of the division until a lot later in his career and his undefeated streak was filled with a list of "who the hel is that".

That said, he only lost to the absolute best of the divisions, beat a number of them and defended the belt.

He's in a sort of anomalous spot.
 
If Sean Sherk had regular human length arms instead of the T Rex arms of Artem, he would have been a more dominant champ

He's in a similar spot as Kabob in he didn't fight the top of the division until a lot later in his career and his undefeated streak was filled with a list of "who the hel is that".

That said, he only lost to the absolute best of the divisions, beat a number of them and defended the belt.

He's in a sort of anomalous spot.
Agree he only lost to the cream of the crop and many losses came late in his career. With modern game planning/techniques he would run havoc in 145/155 and lower levels of 170.

He would wreck people like Conor
 
I liked him better at LW than WW given his size, but he was tough. Always fought the best, far as I can remember.

His test failures are the big catch though, he popped more than once didn't he?

Edit - only popped once. Memory has faded with the years.
 
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Agree he only lost to the cream of the crop and many losses came late in his career. With modern game planning/techniques he would run havoc in 145/155 and lower levels of 170.

He would wreck people like Conor


Nothing would've made me happier.

Yeah, it would've been pretty similar to Nuggets Kabob., save for I don't think Sean would've scored a knockdown but I do think he would've won.

It could also run like Mendes Nuggets, save for Sherk wouldn't gas. Chad was working the Hel out of Conor that first round.
 
He's hard to rank cuz he split time between lightweight and welterweight. And for a time in his career lightweight didn't exist in the UFC and then the money wasn't there for him to make in MMA so he did other stuff too.

He was very impressive though in his fight against Matt Hughes where he won two rounds despite being much smaller.
 
I liked him better at LW than WW given his size, but he was tough. Always fought the best, far as I can remember.

His test failures are the big catch though, he popped more than once didn't he?
Pretty sure he only popped once and he actually had over the counter supplements that tested positive. He kind of got railroaded cuz other people did the same thing and got their sentences either reduced or completely removed.
 
Sean Sherk really was the blueprint for a strong wrestle boxer with amazing cardio.

LW
BJ Penn
Khabib
Oliveria
Sherk
Frankie


WW

Usman
GSP
Leon
Hughes
Woodley
Lawler
RDA
Sherk

Yeah but Sherk was likely a career roider.
 
Pretty sure he only popped once and he actually had over the counter supplements that tested positive. He kind of got railroaded cuz other people did the same thing and got their sentences either reduced or completely removed.
No you're right on how many times, he popped for Nandrolone after the Franca fight. I think there was that initial failure, some appeal drama, and CSAC ultimately held it up and he got stripped, which is prob why I was thinking more than once.

On another note, dude is 50 years old now, fucks sake.
 
Sean Sherk really was the blueprint for a strong wrestle boxer with amazing cardio.

LW
BJ Penn
Khabib
Oliveria
Sherk
Frankie


WW

Usman
GSP
Leon
Hughes
Woodley
Lawler
RDA
Sherk
Hard to say, he is below Penn and Edgar. That is a given. Comparing him to other LWs is hard because he had the skills to beat bigger guys and it is not proven that guys like Islam and Olives can do that yet.

I still would rank them over Sherk just based on mma evolution though.
 
Hard to say, he is below Penn and Edgar. That is a given. Comparing him to other LWs is hard because he had the skills to beat bigger guys and it is not proven that guys like Islam and Olives can do that yet.

I still would rank them over Sherk just based on mma evolution though.
It's worth noting that Sherk was 36 and Edgar was just entering his prime when they fought. I don't know how much difference it would've made if Sean were 5 years younger, but he had to be a bit washed based on age and that being his 40th fight.
 
It's worth noting that Sherk was 36 and Edgar was just entering his prime when they fought. I don't know how much difference it would've made if Sean were 5 years younger, but he had to be a bit washed based on age and that being his 40th fight.
That is something that I should of noted, thanks. Yeah, his very next fight was for retirement so he at least had to feel like he didn't have much gas left in the tank.
 
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He was very good, but his frame was too small for the elite of the division. He'd have fared better at 145. He was known for being incredibly strong, but reach is VERY important, and seems even more important at lighter weights. He honestly probably could have made 135 if he'd lost some muscle. He's listed at 5'6" but that's being generous. BJ, 5'9". Conor 5'8". Khabib and Islam, 5'10"

He just wasn't long enough for the division's top dogs. Sean O'Malley is 5'11" at 135! Too small!
 
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