At 27-1-1, it could be said that Sean Sherk is the best mixed martial artist to have never won a major championship. After six years competing everywhere from Mahnomen, Minnesota to Tokyo, Japan, one of the sports most active and dominant fighters says hes finally had enough of flaky promoters, weak-kneed challengers and, most troubling, the lack of moneyall of which has led to him to a crossroads.
I paid my dues, he continued, more than anybody else in this sport, in my opinion. And Ive done everything I needed to do to become a successful fighter.
Its hard to argue against him.
Undefeated in his first18 fights before losing a competitive decision to Matt Hughes in the only major title shot of his career, Sherk is 10-0 since April 2003but none of those wins came against fighters of note and all, except for an appearance in PRIDE Bushido, took place in low- or mid-level events.
The last two years have been pretty tough, fighting in the small shows, Sherk, far removed from being in the main event on a UFC pay-per-view, admitted.
The tough times grew, ironically enough, out of what should have been the zenith of his career.
With Sherks UFC contract scheduled to end 10 days before the Hughes fight in Miami, DeWayne Zinkinwho signed the welterweight powerhouse away from his longtime manager Monte Cox several months before the April championship boutplayed hardball with UFC promoter Zuffa, demanding double what the fight would have otherwise paid.
The UFC counter-offered, however Zinkins belief that Sherkhardly a favorite inside Zuffas Las Vegas office before the renegotiationwould beat Hughes, led him to stand firm.
For the contender, it was a costly mistake. He got his new deal, but not without a clause that allowed Zuffa to terminate the contractand Sherks ability to fight in the UFCif he failed to take Hughes belt.
Nearly two years later, the life-long wrestler, a self-described six-day a weakerchanged by the responsibilities of a wife, his baby boy Kyler, and a new homehas parted ways with Zinkin. Even still, he said, phone calls to the UFC go unreturned and the prospect of getting back in the show seem slim at best.
Fighting nine times in 11 months from December 03 to November 04 helped pay the bills. But small-time promoters made life difficult, moving him to the conclusion that something had to give.
It was a really humbling, eye-opening experience for me, Sherk said. At that point in time I realized I cant make a living in this sport anymore.
Sherk isnt the only fighter feeling the pinch of a promoters market, but hes surely the best example.
Matt Lindland, never one to be quiet about wanting high-paying fights, understands where Sherk is coming from. Over the past year Lindland has spent a great deal of time working on the other side of the fence, promoting the Portland, Oregon-based SportFight.
At end of this past summer Lindland contacted Sherk and asked if hed be interested in fighting fellow wrestler Heath Sims. Still actively pursuing bouts, Sherk said he was.
But then the roof caved in.
Within a three-month time span I had about five fights fall through, Sherk recalled. I couldnt find any fights at all; couldnt find any promoters; had a kidso I had to go back and get a regular job.
For the first time since he began fighting, Sherk just had to take a break, and did for nearly 10 weeks, which, by Sherk Standards, might as well have been 10 years.
Wanting to make sure the February fight between Sherk and Simswhich had only been discussed, not signedwas still a go, Lindland called the top-ranked welterweight last month. With Sherks autumn frustration lingering, he broke the news to Lindland that he wouldnt be available to fight.
How much is it worth for me to train full-time instead of working on my business? he asked rhetorically, referring to the hardwood flooring business he opened with a partner last month. To be honest with ya, I cant make a living as a fighter. There is a few guys out there making a living, but for the most part people arent making a living at it. Ive got no retirement fund; Ive got no 401K.
Im 31 years oldI dont want to end up being 40 years old [and] broke because Ive been chasing this dream too long.
This was uncharted territory for the native Minnesotan, who was usually the one that faced the bad end of a cancelled fight.
I got a lot of names from guys whove turned down fights with me, Sherk said. And thats been a problem, too. I havent fought a guy worth a shit in two years. Ill be the first one to admit thatbut thats not my fault. Its not for lack of effort, because I tell every promoter the same thing: Get me the best guy you can. I want to fight the best guys out there. And no good guys want to fight because theyre afraid to lose.
If theyre already in the UFC, well, if they fight me and lose then theyre out of the UFC. If theyre on their way into the UFC, if theyre right on the borderline, they fight me and lose, well now theyre not in the UFC anymoreand thats where everybody wants to be, the UFC. So I cant get any fights with top guys. I fight all these chumps, not to take anything away from them of course, just not the same ability. You know, it doesnt do anything for me except for giving me a payday so I can continue fighting full time. But then they fight because they have nothing to lose. One punch, one kick, one knee, one elbow they can get lucky and win the fight, well then theyre in the next UFC.
For Sherk, its yet another reminder of how difficult it can be to enjoy success in mixed martial arts, a sport, he says, in need of serious oversight.
He offered three ideas: a sanctioning body whose jurisdiction would cover the entire United States so not just anybody can pop up and throw on a showbecause there are so many flaky promoters out there and theyre just giving the sport a black eye; a union designed to protect fighters so promoters cant just cancel the fight on one weeks notice and basically tell you to fuck off, not give you any money or anything for all the training that you put into the fight; a ranking system so when youve got a top guy who everyone knows is one of the best guys in the worldand Im not just talking about myself, theres other guys that have been in the same positionthey cant just get black-balled from the big shows.
But until those things happen, all Sherk can do from going mad is laugh.
I look at the people who are fighting in that show now, and its a joke, he said. They got a guy fighting in the next show (Drew Fickett) that turned down three fights with me.
When I found he was on the next UFC, I busted out laughing. I said, I cant believe this. So thats how you get into the UFCby turning down fights with top guys.
Its not that simple, of course. As Sherk knows, like in any business, it usually boils down to money. And undoubtedly it costs the UFCor any other promoter for that mattera heck of a lot less to sign a Drew Fickett than a Sean Sherk.
Whether its the UFC or PRIDE, which Sherk says is an option hes having explored, one thing and one thing only will get him back in the ring: a decent payday.
I wont fight for less than 20-grand right now, depending on the opponent, he swore. If its a top guy and Im gonna have to train for three months, then obviously I want a lot more than that.
Im going to set my price, and if people arent willing to meet that price then, too bad.