Pablo Popovitch Gives UFC Champion BJ Penn a Helping Hand

wayne1

Pablo Popovitch Gives UFC Champion BJ Penn a Helping Hand!!! :eek:



UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn has asked Pablo Popovitch to visit Hawaii and help him train for his upcoming fight with Sean Sherk. Pablo brings great help to BJ’s training not only because of World Class jiu-jitsu, but because his incredible strength and aggressiveness will replicate Sean Sherk well. Pablo is excited and will leave his Academy in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for two weeks.

Nothingcompares

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB1RbszpCQI

Pablo is a monster and will be a great training partner for BJ! Sherk is in a lot of trouble.

john kavanagh

SBGs own Gunnar Nelson lends a hand too gunni was only there a week before being invited to be part of BJ's personal training group preparing for his fight. gunni's being there a few weeks now training with him, faber, pablo, kimbo(!), gray and a bunch of other mma stars i cant remember now haha

gunni will be guest instructor at sbg for few weeks in june and july

Valmont

I haven't been this hyped up for a fight since Randy v Liddell 3, I hope Sherk kills him. The worst part is I have no way of seeing the fight!:eek:

goo

You hope Sherk...kills him?!

Faber's been there ages now, that fight with Jens should be great. I had no idea Kimbo was out there too...that fight with James Thompson probably won't be.
Come on, BJ.

fatal

The only way Sherk's going to win is if he starts juicing again

john kavanagh

i cant understand how anybody would like to see a steroid abusing, muscle head beat a graceful technician? .....bar a bush-voting, nascar racing fan??

dlofnep

Bit harsh JK. Sherk is a hard-worker, with a great wrestling background. I don't believe for one moment that he knowingly took roids, especially considering the fact there is a mandatory testing for title matches. I think it's bad luck.

I think it's a great matchup. for BJ, it's a time to finally cement his champion status at 155. For Sherk, it's time to put the bad times behind him, and all those years he was kept out of the bigger leagues and to try establish himself as the true champ.

Great matchup. BJ is skillful but prone to gassing - but I love to watch him fight - His TD defense is awesome and his ground game is very offensive and progressive.. Sherk will never gas however. That may be BJ's achilles heal and if BJ can't finish him within the first 3 rounds, Sherk may be able to score a decision. Anything can happen in MMA.

eoghan.geraghty

Sean Sherk IS Michael J Fox on steroids!
I just want Bj to rap on Sherks head saying "Mc Fly! Anybody home McFly?" right before the rear naked choke kicks in, say halfway through round 2.

t-ha

dlofnep wrote: »

Bit harsh JK. Sherk is a hard-worker, with a great wrestling background. I don't believe for one moment that he knowingly took roids, especially considering the fact there is a mandatory testing for title matches. I think it's bad luck.

Doubt it myself. I saw his backstage training bit (or whatever it's called, the thing with Rachelle Leigh) and he seemed to know an awful lot about nutrition/supplements etc. Obviously that's not a crime in itself, but he struck me as someone who spent alot of time reading about training and how to enhance it & the fact that he registered only a little over the permissable level for that steroid would just indicate to me that he knew what he was doing and thought he'ld have the steroids cleared completely by the time he was tested. Also there's the whole thing of him carrying a tonne of muscle while being completely shredded and training unbelievably intently for incredible amounts of time. Again, that's no crime but put it all together and I think you've got a gear-bag on your hands. I hope BJ knocks him stupid.

Fozzy

It's not so much the fact that he was caught with steroids in him that annoys me about Sherk, it's his attitude and behaviour afterwards. He's given out about the CSAC many times now, accusing them of not being able to do their job right, and the CSAC has done certain things to prove that Sherk is full of crap, like testing some recent urine samples a number of times in different labs. Sherk's excuses weren't valid, that's the reality, yet he still won't drop it

goo

At least he's saying he takes responsibility for everything he takes in to his body now.
And sure he's getting tested in a couple of weeks. I know **** all about steroids, but that takes them out of the picture right?

Clive

goo wrote: »

And sure he's getting tested in a couple of weeks. I know **** all about steroids, but that takes them out of the picture right?

Nope, not even slightly!

fatal

Another thing that annoys me about this whole Sherk steroid situation is that Dana white himself said on several occasions that he doesn't believe that Sherk was on gear,even though every test conducted with Sherk's samples showed traces of Nandrolone

goo

Clive wrote: »

Nope, not even slightly!

Oh. Hahaha.

Valmont

Valmont wrote: »

I haven't been this hyped up for a fight since Randy v Liddell 3, I hope Sherk kills him. The worst part is I have no way of seeing the fight!:eek:

Really? Wow.


I dont think Ive wanted someone to win more than I want BJ to win in my entire life! Roid free baby!

RealJohn

dlofnep wrote: »

I don't believe for one moment that he knowingly took roids, especially considering the fact there is a mandatory testing for title matches. I think it's bad luck.

No offence but are you serious? All you have to do is look at Sherk to know he's on more than protein shakes. The positive test just confirmed what we all knew. The only surprise was that he was careless enough to get caught.

I'd love to see BJ hammer him into retirement (and I'm not a big fan of BJ's).

(note: the apostrophe is important in the last sentence)

dlofnep

RealJohn wrote: »

No offence but are you serious? All you have to do is look at Sherk to know he's on more than protein shakes. The positive test just confirmed what we all knew. The only surprise was that he was careless enough to get caught.

I'd love to see BJ hammer him into retirement (and I'm not a big fan of BJ's).

(note: the apostrophe is important in the last sentence)

There are 1000's of "natural" bodybuilders with better physique than Sherks. So no, that doesn't wash with me at all. Seán was taking an awful amount of supplements, it's not so far fetched that he wasn't 100% sure about every single substance in them and went on good faith as they were legal.

I believe he didn't take anything knowingly and his upcoming fight will prove it if he is in the same shape. He is being tested concurrently, to catch cycling.

goo

When someone tries to use the "I know you're doing steroids, look at your belly" argument I always feel really smart.

Fozzy

dlofnep wrote: »

There are 1000's of "natural" bodybuilders with better physique than Sherks. So no, that doesn't wash with me at all. Seán was taking an awful amount of supplements, it's not so far fetched that he wasn't 100% sure about every single substance in them and went on good faith as they were legal.

The onus is on the fighter though, not the supplement companies. There's also the fact that one of Sherk's excuses was that they found one of his supplements actually was tainted, and he tried to use that as evidence for his case. But the supplement was tainted with something that wouldn't have caused what he was caught for. There's no evidence of his supplements being the reason that he tested positive for nandrolone

dlofnep wrote: »

I believe he didn't take anything knowingly and his upcoming fight will prove it if he is in the same shape. He is being tested concurrently, to catch cycling.

I hadn't heard this before, he's paying for the testing himself?

Valmont

I think I'm alone in supporting Sherk but BJ really annoys me. Everyone harps on about his amazing natural grappling ability yet is it too much to ask that he actually trains for a fight? It's annoying because when he loses (vs Hughes) everyone says 'oh he could have won easily if he trained'.

And Sherk is a fantastic grappler in his own right, roids or not, he has talent, just look how he controlled Florian and Franca and they're both black belts. I just enjoy watching him grapple.

But mainly he's really short and I feel sorry him so war Sherk!

dunkamania

BJ has showed alot more dedication to fighting in recent fights, hopefully it will last

dlofnep

Fozzy wrote: »

I hadn't heard this before, he's paying for the testing himself?

No, the athletic commission is and when Sherk weighs in in peak shape and looks exactly like he has before, people will have no choice but to accept that Sherk gets where he is through hard work.

goo

The commission taking one extra sample a month out from the fight is not the same as testing concurrently, that's all.

Mark Hamill

dlofnep wrote: »

No, the athletic commission is and when Sherk weighs in in peak shape and looks exactly like he has before, people will have no choice but to accept that Sherk gets where he is through hard work.

I don't know much about steroids, so I well could be wrong, but would he not still have a similar physique to what he had a year ago if he stopped taking the steroids but kept up the same level of training, he'd hardly lose it all since July (assuming he stopped taking them when he was first caught).

Fozzy

dlofnep wrote: »

No, the athletic commission is and when Sherk weighs in in peak shape and looks exactly like he has before, people will have no choice but to accept that Sherk gets where he is through hard work.

I only read about this now. While it still won't prove anything for certain if he passes it, it is a step in the right direction

Mark Hamill wrote: »

I don't know much about steroids, so I well could be wrong, but would he not still have a similar physique to what he had a year ago if he stopped taking the steroids but kept up the same level of training, he'd hardly lose it all since July (assuming he stopped taking them when he was first caught).

It'd be unlikely. If you take WWE for example, last year they got more strict with their steroid policy and within a month you could notice certain guys looking smaller. While Sherk wouldn't be using steroids to mainly get bigger, the effects would still wear off in a lot less time than a year

dlofnep

Mark Hamill wrote: »

I don't know much about steroids, so I well could be wrong, but would he not still have a similar physique to what he had a year ago if he stopped taking the steroids but kept up the same level of training, he'd hardly lose it all since July (assuming he stopped taking them when he was first caught).

Basically Mark, if he's totally clean and still maintains his explosiveness and physique, I'd estimate that it's a result of hard work.

Mark Hamill

dlofnep wrote: »

Basically Mark, if he's totally clean and still maintains his explosiveness and physique, I'd estimate that it's a result of hard work.

Thats true, but the thing is if he can be totally clean and still maintain his explosiveness and physique then what would have been the point of taking the steroids?
I always thought Sherk was an awesome wrestler and trained like nuts to be the way he is, and that didn't stop when I heard he took steroids, I (like a lot of people, I think) was just let down and disappointed when we heard that he cheated.

FiannaGym.com

This is complex.

On the one hand, if Sherk shows up like he did before then fair play to him.

On the other, he did roids. Knowingly or unknowingly.

I really hope BJ crushes him, mostly because regardless of the rights and wrongs of it it'll be a win for clean fighters.

Peace

dlofnep

Sherk is one of the hardest workers in the game and worked his arse off, nearly to the point of quitting MMA altogether before he got back into the UFC. I wouldn't hold the past against him. He could of done worse. I like BJ, I like Sherk. May the best man win.

Dragan

john kavanagh wrote: »

i cant understand how anybody would like to see a steroid abusing, muscle head beat a graceful technician? .....bar a bush-voting, nascar racing fan??

Or you could say you can't understand how anyone would like to see a steroid abusing muscle head beat a policeman assaulting technician?

Just think it's a bit low to mention the failings of the one but not the other is all.

t-ha

Mark Hamill wrote: »

I don't know much about steroids, so I well could be wrong, but would he not still have a similar physique to what he had a year ago if he stopped taking the steroids but kept up the same level of training, he'd hardly lose it all since July (assuming he stopped taking them when he was first caught).

Once you come off of steroids you physically can't keep up the same level of training. It's not a question of heart, but one of physiology. There are ways to hang on to some of your gains for a little while, but basically you go back to where you were pre-roids once you come off of them. Look up ex-elite bodybuilders like Dorian Yates or Tom Prince. Pro bodybuilders I've spoken to have told me that they reckon within 6 months of going clean most of your steroid-induced gains are gone, and certaintly after a year clean whatever you've still got is all you.

Also, there are designer steroids out there that testers can't find, and AFAIK there are steroids out there that clear the system in about a day or so. This is all assuming that we do see the old Sherk. I think a lethargic Sherk would answer an awful lot of questions.

john kavanagh

Dragan wrote: »

Or you could say you can't understand how anyone would like to see a steroid abusing muscle head beat a policeman assaulting technician?

Just think it's a bit low to mention the failings of the one but not the other is all.

how would that improve his chances of hurting sherk in the cage?

Dragan

Dragan wrote: »

Or you could say you can't understand how anyone would like to see a steroid abusing muscle head beat a policeman assaulting technician?

Just think it's a bit low to mention the failings of the one but not the other is all.

Have to agree with John, open hand slapping an off duty cop who is roughing up your brother in a nightclub melee is not gonna make u be able to lift more weight and carry extra muscle mass while not stopping you training your cardio!

Sherk cheated, end of story. What they do in their private life and their dealings with law enforcement are frankly irrelevent because all we should be worrying about is their fighting capabilities and Sherk is getting ilegal help to make him be able to beat guys.

As BJ says "Steroids mean u dont have to spend hours on the mat drilling the same armbar over and over again"

Dragan

My point is that it came across as a simple character attack favouring the **** ups of one over the **** ups of another.

Deleted User wrote: »

As BJ says "Steroids mean u dont have to spend hours on the mat drilling the same armbar over and over again"

Ah well, at least with a quote like that i can be 100% positive that BJ has never touched gear!

Dragan

Dragan wrote: »

My point is that it came across as a simple character attack favouring the **** ups of one over the **** ups of another.

To be honest i wouldnt care if Sherk has a fetish for midget porn and he likes to dress up as a woman, what i care about is how he fights in the ring and if he cheats then I have a big problem with that.

Dragan wrote:

Ah well, at least with a quote like that i can be 100% positive that BJ has never touched gear!

The quote was geared(pun intended:p) towards highlighting that steroids can make up at times for deficits in skill which goes against everything I believe in personally.

I think BJs (former) pudgy physique and questionable cardio will tell ya that he hasnt touched the gear (along with all the tests he has passed, something Sherk cant fall back on) but the guy gives it his all and at least u know its honest.

scottydog

I have just returned from a character-building soul cleansing break abroad:)..i have read..tutted...ruminated on this earnest discussion..:rolleyes:..the big bad roid rage cheat...the graceful..artistic even,...guy who slapped a cop!:)

Theres a lot of emotion on here but i would like to add my considered, unbiased...maybe even mature, opinion:rolleyes:

SEAN SHREK....YOURE...DEAD.....::D

wayne1

Sean Sherk, who tested positive for the steroid nandrolone in California in July 2007 and was suspended from fighting for six months, today presented himself before the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) via telephone to answer questions the Commission had for him. Sherk is scheduled to fight BJ Penn in Las Vegas on May 24th at UFC 84: Ill Will. He is in the midst of the application procedure for his license to fight in the state of Nevada.

Sherk’s license would normally be administratively approved with no further mention but given his positive test for nandrolone in California in 2007 the NSAC wished to discuss the matter in more detail.

Sherk has already submitted all the necessary medical and administrative paperwork for his license to be approved. A commission member asked Sherk, “Mr. Sherk, do you understand that the NCAC will hold you responsible for anything that comes up positive in your test, irrespective of your knowingly taking a certain steroid?”

“Yes I understand that I am responsible for anything that goes into my body,” Sherk answered.

Given his prior record of testing positive for steroids, the Commission decided to impose an extra requirement on Sherk: in addition to his paperwork being in order and submitting himself for the regular drug and steroid test the night of his fight against Penn, the NSAC has voted to require Sherk to present himself for an additional drug and steroid test during the week of April 21st.

One staff member also asked Sherk to explain an assault charge that Sherk received in 1994. Sherk explained that he was at a bar with friends, and one friend got into a fight with another group of men. Sherk got involved as the fight moved to the parking lot but claimed it was “a mistake… something I wouldn’t do again”.

The commission member asked Sherk to confirm that he had no plans for such activity when he visits Las Vegas. Sherk responded, “No I haven’t fought outside the ring in the last ten years.”

Satisfied with his response, the NSAC confirmed the decision to require Sherk to take the extra drug test, and moved to the next order of business.

Sherk’s fight with Penn is widely anticipated by mixed martial arts fans, who recall Sherk’s ability to take down BJJ black belt Kenny Florian at will during their encounter at UFC 64. Penn’s wiliness on the ground and ability to withstand takedown attempts lead many to believe that he may be able to shut down Sherk’s wrestling-based style. :cool:

Dragan

Deleted User wrote: »

The quote was geared(pun intended:p) towards highlighting that steroids can make up at times for deficits in skill which goes against everything I believe in personally.

I think BJs (former) pudgy physique and questionable cardio will tell ya that he hasnt touched the gear (along with all the tests he has passed, something Sherk cant fall back on) but the guy gives it his all and at least u know its honest.

To be honest, nothing i have studied on anabolic steroids would indicate to me that they can help you develop your skill set. Make you bigger? Sure. Make you stronger? Most certainly. Help you recover? No doubt.

But i'm not sure they would have any such effect on your CNS?

Not saying this for any other reason than to stop this coming up in google and having some dude think if he pounds Sus-250 he'll end up like BJ or something.

As for Sherk being done for assault, what a dumbass. I also love the fact that for every time a fighter gets in trouble it was always to help out a friend!

Dragan

Dragan wrote: »

To be honest, nothing i have studied on anabolic steroids would indicate to me that they can help you develop your skill set. Make you bigger? Sure. Make you stronger? Most certainly. Help you recover? No doubt.

But i'm not sure they would have any such effect on your CNS?

Not saying this for any other reason than to stop this coming up in google and having some dude think if he pounds Sus-250 he'll end up like BJ or something.

As for Sherk being done for assault, what a dumbass. I also love the fact that for every time a fighter gets in trouble it was always to help out a friend!

Im not suggesting Sherk isnt skilled at all, or that roids would develop his skillset(:p obviously ) what Im saying his he beats guys by outlasting them. I mean his shot against Florian was as explosive in round 5 as it was in round 1. If he was juice free would he have been so fresh? Florian and France both had trouble dealing with his pure physicality. They may have had a better chance in an even playing field. Not saying he wouldnt have won anyway, the sheer dominance of those performances suggests he would but the way he mauled them was in a lot of ways due to superior cardio and strength.

BJ got gone for "assault" while defending his brother yes, it was an open handed slap on an off duty cop by all accounts. To be honest if he had actually properly assaulted the guy he'd be in jail. It was looked at as more of a misdemeanor and his sentence reflected that. To be honest, that for me is irrelevent though because it wont give him an unfair and unearned advantage over his opponents in the cage whilst taking substances that help u to be physically stronger than your opponent is plain cheating.


Back to the topic at hand, Pablo Popovitch, been watchin a lot of his vids lately, the guys an absolute monster!

RNCFAN

This fight with Sherk is gonna be beautiful to watch. I don't see any reason why BJ would not be motivated for this fight. Anyone who's watched him over the years knows thats the Key - Motivation. If he's motivated he will prepare and be in shape and if BJ is in shape its gonna
be a bad night for Sherk.

john kavanagh

Dragan wrote: »

My point is that it came across as a simple character attack favouring the **** ups of one over the **** ups of another.

not a character attack. just pointing out he cheated so he had a better chance of damaging his opponent.

tbh couldnt care less how fighters act outside the cage...i dont follow them as role models just admire certain fighters abilities in the cage.

dlofnep

Sherk and BJ are both skillful in the cage. For different reasons. sean is an explosive powerhouse with great wrestling. BJ a slick as they come jiu-jitsu player, with a titanium jaw and good hands.

In anycase, I really like this fight. It's the pepperoni pizza of MMA fights.

john kavanagh

dlofnep wrote: »

Sherk and BJ are both skillful in the cage. For different reasons. sean is an explosive powerhouse with great wrestling. BJ a slick as they come jiu-jitsu player, with a titanium jaw and good hands.

In anycase, I really like this fight. It's the pepperoni pizza of MMA fights.

being an 'explosive powerhouse' is not a skill (technique plus timing) its an attibute....greatly helped by certain chemicals. his wrestling is good but largely attribute based (like most wrestlers in the ufc). i've been lucky enough to have had the odd 'pull' with olympic level wrestlers...just like high level bjj blackbelts they are totally reliant on levers and timing...not power.

i'm not a pepperoni fan so i'll say its the dominoes garlic pizza bread of fights!

dlofnep

True, it's an attribute.. But Sherk also possesses alot of skill in his wrestling technique - he has been wrestling for years. I wouldn't attribute it all to his strength.

The free garlic pizza breads that come with the pepperoni pizza?

Nothingcompares

I think it's interesting that Sherk didn't wrestle through college but still has good wrestling skills compared even to the wrestlers in the UFC who have won NCAAs and been involved in Olympics. For the record I'm behind Bj all the way but I hope Sherk turns up in super shape

Nothingcompares

Nothingcompares wrote: »

I think it's interesting that Sherk didn't wrestle through college but still has good wrestling skills compared even to the wrestlers in the UFC who have won NCAAs and been involved in Olympics. For the record I'm behind Bj all the way but I hope Sherk turns up in super shape

GSP started at 21 and was considering goin for the Olympics......

Fozzy

Deleted User wrote: »

GSP started at 21 and was considering goin for the Olympics......

I don't know how close he'd have gotten, but he wouldn't have got as close if he were American

Nothingcompares

Deleted User wrote: »

GSP started at 21 and was considering goin for the Olympics......

i agree gsp is amazing

Roper

Watch Sherk wrestle and then watch say, Henderson wrestle. Henderson is a big, powerful man but when it comes to his takedowns he makes it look easy, then watch Sherk do the same thing and watch how much effort it takes. I know I'm not comparing like with like here, considering how good a wrestler Henderson is, but just trying to give an example of a good wrestler with good attributes, versus a middling wrestler with great attributes.

I think it remains to be seen how many of those attributes remain in Sherk now that he's clean. What is clear is that the UFC really didn't give a fvck if he was juicing, sure they interviewed him at BJ's last fight, as though the ban was a temporary inconvenience.

And for those of you who want Sherk to win... what?!!! I only know of one guy who'd rooting for Sherk and that's because he's a WWE fan and Sherk more fits the profile of what a fighter should look like to him.:D

Roper

Roper wrote: »

And for those of you who want Sherk to win... what?!!! I only know of one guy who'd rooting for Sherk and that's because he's a WWE fan and Sherk more fits the profile of what a fighter should look like to him.:D

I wonder if he still will without the juice.



I think u hit the nail on the head with the first part of your post, although Hendo is a Greco guy and Sherk is a freestyle guy, its still relative because the 2 times where Sherk got owned was against guys who were physically bigger than him (Hughes and GSP) whilst Hendo throws around the bigger guys.


I hope BJ puts a clinic on here tbh.