Sean Sherk: Is the Former Lightweight Champion a UFC Hall of Famer?

In a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com Radio, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk said that he wants fights "that are going to cement my place in the UFC Hall of Fame." 

This raises the question: Has "The Muscle Shark" had a UFC Hall of Fame-worthy career?

There are plenty of pros and cons for this argument, so let's look at some of the main points from both sides.  

Pro: UFC Record

Sherk's career record is nothing short of spectacular: 36-4-1, going 8-4 in the UFC.  As a basis of comparison, pound-for-pound king/UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has a career record of 31-4 (14-0 UFC).  

Of course, Sherk is not—and never was—the dominant force that "The Spider" is, but the statistics show that he has accomplished a lot in this sport.  

Also note that Sherk's four losses have come only come to elite, all-time greats of the sport: Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar.  

Con: Failing to Beat Elite Competition

Conversely, one can argue that in 36 career wins, Sherk has only beaten a handful of Top 10 opponents. 

Sherk's best UFC wins came between 2006 and 2010, as he defeated the likes of Nick Diaz, Kenny Florian, Hermes Franca, Tyson Griffin and Evan Dunham.  

No one on that list has ever held UFC gold, though Nick Diaz has a chance at the UFC interim welterweight title when he takes on Carlos Condit on Feb. 4th. 

Florian has always faltered against top-tier competition, Griffin's career has been on a downward spiral since 2009 (though he fought Sherk in Oct. 2008), and sadly, Franca is best known for being sentenced to 42 months in prison for sexual abuse of an underage student.

Dunham is a bit more ambiguous, since many fans and analysts believed that he deserved to have his hand raised at the end of his Sept. 2010 bout with Sherk.

The Xtreme Couture fighter also turned 30 less than a month ago and boasts a UFC record of 12-2, so it is tough to say what he will achieve in the Octagon before he calls it a career.

Pro: Sucess in Two Weight Classes

Sherk built himself up to be a Top Five welterweight on at least two occasions, and, at one point, wore 12 pounds of UFC gold at 155-pounds. 

While several fighters have come up short when trying to capture a UFC title in two separate weight classes over the course of a career, only BJ Penn and Randy Couture have been successful, so clearly this is no easy feat to achieve.

Sherk also never cut a considerable amount of weight, so he was essentially fighting at 170 pounds as a slightly inflated lightweight. 

That makes his success at a heavier weight class that much more commendable. 

Con: Lightweight Career Has Been Mediocre

Sherk won the vacant lightweight title from Kenny Florian at UFC 64, successfully defended the title against Hermes Franca at UFC 73...but The Muscle Shark's lightweight career went downhill from there. 

Since May of 2008, Sherk has fought just four times and posted a record of 2-2.  Injuries forced him to pull out of scheduled fights set for UFC 104, UFC 108 and UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones.

As a matter of fact, Sherk did not fight at all in 2011 and speculates that he will not be ready to return any earlier than the spring of this year. 

Needless to say, 41 fights take a serious toll on a man's body, but unless Sherk defeats a top contender or two before he hangs the gloves up, it would be tough to call his career at lightweight truly remarkable. 

Con: Sherk Tested Positive for Steroids After Winning the Lightweight Title

The elephant in the room here is that Sherk failed a drug test and was stripped of the lightweight title shortly after defeating Hermes Franca. 

Sherk tested positive for Nandrolone, sometimes referred to by its street name "Deca," in a urine test a day prior to the Franca fight and was handed a 12-month suspension by the California State Athletic Commission. 

The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy Fighter maintained that the failed test was the result of a lab procedure error, stating that the vial in which his urine was submitted was not cleaned properly and therefore was contaminated by a previous positive test. 

The CSAC heard Sherk out to an extent, reducing his suspension to six months, but the UFC stuck to their guns and did not give Sherk the title back. 

Sherk received another shot at the title once he returned from suspension at UFC 84, where he was soundly picked apart by BJ Penn for three rounds until he was not unable to continue into the fourth round.

Conclusion: Sherk Is Not a UFC Hall of Famer

Barring an unbelievable sprint to the finish line in the twilight of his career, it is tough to rationalize that Sean Sherk belongs in the UFC Hall of Fame. 

His one brief title reign was clouded by a failed drug test for steroids, and he failed to ever defeat any truly top-tier competition in the world's premiere mixed martial arts promotion. 

Sherk has accomplished a lot as a professional fighter and few would disagree that it has been a great career, but he does not have the unparalleled accomplishments that truly separate the greats from the legends of the sport.