If Sean Sherk's body had an odometer, it would probably read 500,000.
All those miles have taken a severe toll on him in the 10 years since he started fighting professionally, and several longstanding injuries have returned following his split decision victory over Evan Dunham this past September at UFC 119.
Sherk (34-4-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he won't fight again until he's fully healed.
"I made a decision a couple of years ago that I wasn't going to fight injured any more, so that's where the layoff has been," he said. "It's not worth training half-*** because I'm hurt and fighting half-***, and giving opponents an opportunity to beat me because I wasn't able to prepare properly. That's just not a chance I'm going to take any more."
The former UFC lightweight champion sat out for 16 months prior to the Dunham fight and underwent a rigorous rehabilitation program with several doctors before he was ready to compete.
"All those injuries that I had to rehab, they came back," he said. "So, now I need to get them dealt with again."
Sherk won't say exactly what's ailing him but will say the injuries prevent him from doing certain types of training which in the end affect his conditioning. He admits he ran out of gas in the third round of the Dunham fight.
"I felt like that was something I could have avoided if I was able to step up the conditioning process more," he said.
But he shrugs at the outcry which followed his victory. The split decision was unanimously scorned as one of the worst of the year, and UFC president Dana White said this past week that he still considered Dunham undefeated. For Sherk, though, it was just another chapter in a career that's not always been picture perfect.
"There's always controversy," he said. "I've had controversy surrounding me for a long time. Controversy surrounding the California State Athletic Commission – that still hangs over my head. People still talk crap about me about that, and that was three years ago. So I don't go on the Internet. I don't read anything people are talking about. I just worry about what I have to do, and that's it."
Now, his focus is back on rehabilitation. He said he's still working out five days a week and stands at seven or eight percent bodyfat, but he can't commit to his usual 12-week training camp. That means fighting is on the backburner. His business, which includes the marketing of an elevation mask that simulates training at altitude, is taking up time as well.
"I'm not going to lie; I'm not getting any younger, unfortunately," he said. "So my injuries are just something that needs to be dealt with properly. I don't want to destroy my legacy. It's not worth it."
Doctors have told him he could be ready to fight by this summer, but it sounds like that's more of a target and less of a plan.
He's not quitting, though. He has one more goal to fulfill before he retires.
"I want to win that belt one more time," Sherk said. "That's my ultimate goal: To be a two-time UFC lightweight champion. I think I would put myself in a very elite class of athletes if I was able to do that."
For more information on Sherk, visit SeanSherk.com.
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