Drugs and claims about drinking split UFC fighters

By Jeff Haney

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Before the onset of “this whole nandrolone thing,” as Sean Sherk refers to it, he had a cordial relationship with B.J. Penn.

So Penn’s remarks in the buildup to today’s Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title fight blindsided Sherk, the former champion who was stripped of his belt after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone in July in Sacramento, Calif.

Penn, who fights Joe Stevenson today in the headliner of UFC 80 in Newcastle, England, suggested Sherk had to “cheat” to win a belt and that his reign as champion would be forever tainted.

Sherk, who had a 12-month suspension by the California State Athletic Commission reduced to six months upon appeal, is scheduled to fight the winner of Penn-Stevenson this year.

“Whatever he’s saying, I’m not buying it,” said Sherk, who has vehemently denied any guilt since he failed a urinalysis after beating Hermes Franca in a title fight at UFC 73. “B.J. Penn is a lot of hype and he’s overrated. He knows I’d beat him, so whatever he’s talking about, it’s just him trying to throw me out of my game.

“I just saw the guy a few weeks ago in Las Vegas and he was totally respectful. If you’re going to talk smack about somebody, don’t do it behind their back. Do it to their face or don’t do it at all.”

Sherk will be a commentator on today’s pay-per-view broadcast ($39.95), which will be shown live from Metro Radio Arena at noon PST and on tape-delay at 7 p.m. PST.

Sherk gives Stevenson, who won the second season of the reality TV competition “The Ultimate Fighter,” a solid chance at winning -- but he sounds as if he craves a shot at Penn, who was sentenced to a year’s probation in Hawaii last month on charges of hitting a police officer in a brawl outside a bar.

“There’s a lot of things the guy does that I don’t have any respect for, including his work ethic and his party lifestyle,” Sherk said. “What kind of representative of this sport is that? We can’t be out there drinking and beating up cops.

“That’s not the kind of guy we want to be associated with the UFC lightweight championship. On top of that, he doesn’t train hard. He’s pudgy. That’s not what this sport is supposed to represent.”

Sherk knows some fans will see him in a less flattering light because of his failed drug test, despite his repeated efforts to clear his name.

Sherk and his attorney bolstered their argument before the California commission, he said, with results of three polygraphs and independently conducted blood tests that Sherk thought showed his innocence. When the commission opted not to overturn its verdict, Sherk was bitterly disappointed. He has vowed never to fight in California again.

Sherk said the testing mechanism used in the urinalysis might have been flawed, but also acknowledged a glucosamine supplement he’d ingested could have been “tainted” with a testosterone booster without his knowledge.

“I don’t want to make an assumption,” Sherk said. “I don’t know 100 percent what it was. All I know is I didn’t do it ...

“One of the things that really tore me up about this is that I’ve always taken really good care of my health, my body and how I present myself. I know there are kids looking up to us. I’ve always been respectful of that and everyone I’ve come in contact with. In the public eye, everything you do is going to get blown up 10 times bigger.”