Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk had a lot more to say about BJ Penn and their eagerly anticipated clash. "He's going to have to pay for his comments for sure now. It doesn't matter if he retracts them or not," stated Sherk and you don't want to miss what else he had to say about Penn, Joe Stevenson and much more.
PC: How was your trip to England?
SS: It was good, it was good. It was a long trip just to go watch some fights, but it was something that I felt like I had to do. I had people fighting for my belt. The belt got taken away from me for something I didn't do. I felt like I had to get out there and be a part of it as much as I could.
PC: How did you like being behind the microphone and commentating a little bit?
SS: It was okay. I felt pretty comfortable doing that. I feel like I know the sport well enough to give good insight from a fighter's point of view. I felt alright doing that I guess. It's nothing I want to do for a living, but it's okay to do from time to time.
PC: What did you think of the fight between Stevenson and Penn?
SS: I thought it was pretty good. I thought Joe's best chance was to get on top of BJ. BJ is pretty good at defending takedowns. I don't even think Joe had an opportunity to shoot a takedown. I know Joe didn't want to stand up with him; BJ's boxing is pretty good. BJ is supposed to be pretty good from on top too so I wasn't real sure what to expect, but it was a good fight.
PC: I spoke with Din Thomas and he said that he thinks Joe was a little intimidated at first and by the time he got his confidence going, he had the cut to deal with. Do you think that was the case?
SS: Yeah, maybe that had something to do with it. It's a lot of pressure to take for the first time out. Fighting for the UFC title, main event and you're fighting BJ Penn. That's a lot of pressure for someone to take. I know Joe's been around for a long time, but I don't think he's ever been under that much pressure and been under the microscope like that before so maybe that did have something to do with it. Maybe he had an off night, I don't know, but he did look a little bit off going into that first round. Coming out for the second round, he looked like he was pretty fired up because of that cut though, but by then, it was probably a little too late because that cut really looked like it took something out of him; especially when he got taken down that second time.
PC: I know you said you were rooting for Stevenson because you thought he deserved to be there, but are you happy to finally get the Penn fight and get all of the animosity out of the way?
SS: Yeah, you know, I'm not a big smack talker, that's just not who I am. I don't really need to trash talk people. I don't need to hate someone to fight them. It's good, you know, now I get to get in there and fight BJ. There's been a lot of heat between he and I the last couple of months and I still feel like he needs to beat me if he wants to be the UFC champion legitimately. I feel like he should have to beat me so I think this is something that's pretty important to both of us.
PC: Right after the fight, BJ Penn said, "Sean Sherk, you're dead!" Were you surprised he retracted that statement once you got inside the cage and was right there in front of him?
SS: Yeah, you know, BJ is the kind of guy that likes to talk trash behind your back, but he's nice to your face. I don't know if he knew I was there or what the deal was, but whatever man. I don't care. He could talk all of the smack he wants, it doesn't really matter to me. He's going to have to get in the cage and he's going to have to fight me and I'm not a pushover. I'm coming with a lot of heat, I'm coming with a lot of pressure and I could fight with the best of the best. It's not going to be an easy fight for him by any means and he's going to have to pay for his comments so we'll see. He's not going to walk through me and I don't think he's going to beat me to be honest with you. He's going to have to pay for his comments for sure now. It doesn't matter if he retracts them or not.
PC: I know you maintenance train year round probably, but how far out from a fight do you get into the crazy circuit training that we saw you do on the All Access special?
SS: I'll leave that part out just because I don't want BJ's camp to get any ideas or anything, but I train hard. That's just what I do and I show up in shape every single time I fight. That's one thing I can guarantee is that when I step into the cage, I'm going to be in the best shape of my entire life. It seems like every single time I get in better and better shape because I keep learning.
PC: Another thing me and Din discussed was that you would give anybody problems because you're good at what you do. He said he thought your skills were very underrated because you're so good at what you do; that you don't ever have to show anything else. Do you think that's why you have the misconception of being boring or that you just lay on your opponents?
SS: To be honest with you, I'm a wrestler first and all of the other stuff comes second. It just seems like when I fight, my second nature kicks in, which is wrestling. I've been boxing for a real long time, I've been doing Jiu Jitsu for a real long time and I train that stuff every day, just like I do wrestling. I'm not a one-dimensional fighter, I'm a mixed martial arts fighter and people make the mistake and assume I'm a one-dimensional fighter and if they step in the cage to fight me, they're going to have another thing coming. That's just pretty much how it is.
PC: It's no secret Sean, when BJ is focused, he has a very high skill set. Where do you think he poses the biggest threat to you?
SS: I think he's a threat all around. He's got good boxing, good combos and he hits hard. Once he gets to the ground, he's a world champion in Jiu Jitsu. He's going to pose a problem wherever that fight takes place. It's a fight and he's one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world and I think I am too, even though I don't get recognized as being so. I think we both are really good at what we do and there's going to be fireworks when we step into the cage together; not only because of our skill level, but also for our disliking of each other.
PC: You have a ton of experience and this may not pertain to you, but a lot of times, when a guy is fighting someone he dislikes, they tend to let their emotions get in the way. How do you not let your emotions get in they way and not fight out of character?
SS: I'm going to let emotions get in the way. I'm a lot tougher when I'm pissed off to be honest with you because I train harder and there's nothing he's going to be able to do to stop me. He's going to have to knock me out. That's the only way he's going to win this fight is if he knocks my ass out and I've got a pretty hard head. It's not going to be an easy task, so bring it on. He could talk more shit and piss me off more and that just makes me train harder.
PC: You're a scary dude to me not pissed off and it seems like you're getting fired up so I definitely don't want to piss you off. Is there a date for the fight yet?
SS: (laughing) I have to wait until the UFC announces it. I know when it is, but I have to let the UFC do their job and announce it before I can say anything.
PC: Anything you want to say in closing my man?
SS: I have to thank Minnesota Martial Arts Academy first of all, API, Greg Nelson, Clint, and Affliction and thank my loyal fans.
PC: Ok my man. Don't kill anybody in the meantime.
SS: (laughing) I'll try not to.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]