Thread: *BJ Penn on Sherk and roids*

Keeping up with his new attitude of training and work ethic, B.J. Penn didn’t take much time to get back in the gym and start preparing for his first title defense as lightweight champion against Sean Sherk and the Hawaiian legend still has much to say about the former titleholder who he faces in May.

Showing a dominant and aggressive style throughout his win over Joe Stevenson in January, Penn is already involved in a full training camp to prepare for the fight with Sherk, which is still more than three months away.

“I took a week off, and then I came back and I trained for a week, and then I trained half of last week, and now I’m back in the gym and I’m just training full speed,” said Penn in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I’m going to go in there and show this man of cardio what cardio really is.”

His fire and energy have sparked a war of words with the former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion that seems to have turned this battle personal, but Penn insists it’s just business to him.

“For me, honestly, it’s not personal at all,” he stated. “The man was cheating. I called him a cheater; then he got all personal. So I think all the personal stuff is on him. He said this is the first time a fight’s personal and this and that and whatever. I couldn’t care less. I’m just going to go kick his ass.”

Penn has stayed strong on his statements about Sherk’s suspension following his fight with Hermes Franca in July 2007, and still doesn’t back down with the upcoming bout.

“How can you sit around saying you’re the champ, say the other guy’s the fake champ, and you got busted for (steroids)? We knew he was doing ’roids the whole time, and all this stuff, and about it’s nothing personal, he went and made it all personal. I was calling a spade, a spade.”

It is Sherk’s conviction by the California State Athletic Commission for a positive test following last year’s fight that has spurned the new champion to speak out about any steroid user in mixed martial arts.

“Everybody has questioned my heart, questioned my training ethics, this and that, but I never did something as cowardly as to take any sports enhancement drug,” Penn said. “That’s one thing no one can ever say about me, you know? That I was a coward and took sports enhancement drugs, because I was afraid I was going to get my ass kicked in front of millions of people. So anybody out there who said I never had no heart, at least I wasn’t a coward.”

Penn states that he’s never been tempted by the world of performance enhancing drugs, and believes it’s the type of person in the sport of MMA that has transitioned to the philosophy of cheating and taking the short cut to success by taking drugs.

“To me in this sport, it’s fighting, it’s mixed martial arts, and I feel there’s too many athletes and not enough fighters,” commented Penn. “I think these people going in taking these sports enhancement drugs, they’re not real fighters, they’re athletes. I’m a fighter. I’m a real fighter. That’s all I did my whole life.

“I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, Sean Sherk is doing something illegal!’ I could care less about that. The guy was cheating, trying to steal somebody else’s dream, and that’s where it’s just a joke.”

The part that steroids have played in MMA has been seen by the multitude of suspensions handed down over the years, and Penn is specifically concerned about the other problems that may be happening beyond just taking the performance enhancement drugs.

“It does play a huge factor because they’re cheating and they’re getting more training time, and they’re stronger, but I don’t think that they’re just using steroids is the thing,” he said. “They’re probably pulling their blood out of a refrigerator right before the fight, blood doping, doing all these other things.”

Regardless of Penn’s take on steroids or Sherk, he still recognizes his opponent as a tough challenge and one he’s looking very forward to.

“Sean’s a great fighter. He’s done a lot of great things in the past. I’ll never dispute that, and it will be a great win, whether he’s on steroids or not. It’s a great win to beat Sean Sherk. It’s going to be sweet beating Sean Sherk on May 24.”

MMA WEEKLY - Your #1 Source for Daily MMA News, Interviews, Multimedia, and More: - BJ PENN WEIGHS IN ON SHERK & STEROIDS IN MMA

Got to love BJ Penn`s attitude.
Hes a great fighter.I really hope he beats Sherk.
LW is such an intresting weight class. Would hate to se such a dork as Sherk being the champ.

Originally Posted by FrankenJim

Thanks nice post, I argee mostly with what BJ said, What did he mean about pulling blood out the Fridge??????

apparently freezing an amount of your blood and injecting it back into yourself improves your performance somehow , i remember that some olympic runners used to do that.

Never been relaly sure excactly how they do it but in Norway we call it "bloddoping". It gives beter Cardio and is used much in sports like Skiing/running/biking etc.
Some years ago the whole Finish team pulled them self out of the world cup in skiing because of it. They found bags of blood everywhere around tthe torunement. Toilets at petrol stations etc.

Originally Posted by Gooner

Yeah, I think nowadays blood doping is mostly done via use of EPO instead of the transfusion method.

Also, our guys were total amateurs, even though some of the guys who got caught had had very successful careers. They didn't get caught for blood doping per se, but a substance that was most likely used to mask blood doping - WHICH shows up in tests!

You Norwegians were definitely better at blood doping.
It ain't a crime if you don't get caught and all that.

You know, when you are the one making the tests it is easyer to get away with it. There have been a program on Norwegian TV about out heros from the winter olympic 1994 in Lillehammer doping them self. It created a riot and the producer got fired....lol.
I personaly belive there might be so, dunno????
Like Johan Olav Koss and Bjørn Dæli being so much ahead of everyone around that period.It was kind of to good to be right.

BJ Penn says.....

"We knew he was doing ’roids the whole time, and all this stuff, and about it’s nothing personal, he went and made it all personal. I was calling a spade, a spade.”

I knew Sherk was Juiced too, but if I had posted that here at FF PRIOR to his failed screen I would have been banned.

Blood Doping/EPO equals more red blood cells to carry more Oxygen from the lungs equals significantly increased Cardio performance (somethinh Sherk has been noted for). I suppose greater (clean) blood volume could somewhat decrease Ng/Ml of substances in the blood,but I wouldn't want to stake my career/reputation on that possibility.

[Some steroids work by causing the body to produce more red blood cells, which carry the oxygen to your organs. If you have more of them, you can get more oxygen, like being in better shape! They draw out a bag of blood, allow the body to replace it, then put it back in so they have an extra dose. Like training in high altitudes without traveling! Before there were test for this, you could get away with the steroid like effects without failing the drug test!

I'm with BJ on this one. I can't wait for the fight!

I like both guys but I hope Sherk wins.

Originally Posted by Elder

Who is his wife? Mark Kerr?

Y'all need to step off Kerr and Sherk. Kerr came clean, got professional help and has been clean since. Sherk came clean and did the time too. Do I think what they did is right? No, I don't. But, I highly doubt that there is ANYONE on this forum who's never done anything illegal, taken some dope, drank underage, or whatever. Kerr came out and admitted it, and made things right. Sherk did the time. If Kerr had never admitted it and done the right thing, people wouldn't be making these comments because they'd had no definite ammo or **** to sling at him. People don't make them about the others in the business who are on or highly suspected about juicing. Also, funny to me is that nobody seems to pop these shots on Tim Sylvia...or has everyone forgot that he was stripped of his title, the first time he held it, for using roids? Y'all need to grow up and give people credit for doing the right thing or at least the benefit of the doubt that they are going/have changed. Like I said, everyone's done wrong in their lives so don't y'all sit here and pat yourselves on the back because their names are in the limelight and your's are not.

Originally Posted by SmashingMachine

Y'all need to step off Kerr and Sherk. Kerr came clean, got professional help and has been clean since. Sherk came clean and did the time too. Do I think what they did is right? No, I don't. But, I highly doubt that there is ANYONE on this forum who's never done anything illegal, taken some dope, drank underage, or whatever. Kerr came out and admitted it, and made things right. Sherk did the time. If Kerr had never admitted it and done the right thing, people wouldn't be making these comments because they'd had no definite ammo or **** to sling at him. People don't make them about the others in the business who are on or highly suspected about juicing. Also, funny to me is that nobody seems to pop these shots on Tim Sylvia...or has everyone forgot that he was stripped of his title, the first time he held it, for using roids? Y'all need to grow up and give people credit for doing the right thing or at least the benefit of the doubt that they are going/have changed. Like I said, everyone's done wrong in their lives so don't y'all sit here and pat yourselves on the back because their names are in the limelight and your's are not.

You must have missed the Sylvia threads because that is one of the big points people bring up.

If you are going to single someone out like that I'd say Belfort. I know his positive test did nothing for my fanboy stance on him.