Sherk not stripped; Penn-Stevenson for interim title By Kevin Iole Friday, Nov 2, 2007 2:24 pm EDT Sean Sherk is going to remain the UFC's lightweight champion, but B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson will fight for a lightweight belt at UFC 80 in January in Newcastle, England, UFC president Dana White said Friday. White said he's not going to strip Sherk of his lightweight championship because he is fed up with the California Athletic Commission's handling of Sherk's steroids case. Sherk tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone following his successful title defense on July 7 at UFC 73 in Sacramento, Calif., over Hermes Franca. The California Athletic Commission fined Sherk $2,500 and suspended him for a year. Sherk, though, denied taking steroids and appealed. His hearing was to have been on Wednesday, but it was postponed until Nov. 13 when members of the California commission realized they had not received the 17-page brief attorney Howard Jacobs had submitted on Sherk's behalf. White had vowed to strip Sherk of the title, but said Friday that he no longer plans to do so. "The way this whole thing has been handled has been a mess," White said. He said Penn and Stevenson, who said he learned on Tuesday that he and his wife will have another son, will fight for the interim title as the main event of UFC 80 in Newcastle, England, likely on Jan. 19. The winner of that bout would then presumably face Sherk once Sherk's status is defined by the commission. White said heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabricio Werdum would meet in the co-main on UFC 80. Ironically Dana accuses the CAC of handling Sherks case messily (is that even a word?) but at the same rate Penn Stevenson is going to be for the interim title!!? This guy is crazy! Sherk is found guilty of doping and yet Dana in his infinte wisdom wont strip him to even bring some semblance of clarity to 155 aswell as legitmacy.Whats even better is Gonzaga Werdum and Penn Stevenson is a co main event.
Actually, the case is in appeal, if he loses then he will be stripped. It would be rather stupid to strip him then have him come out of it having been found not guilty, you would have no grounds for stripping him then. Don't know why Gonzaga and Werdum get equal billing as Stevenson and BJ, my guess is because they are HW's, which generate more public interest. Gonzaga vs Werdum is a great fight though, 2 top 10 HW's, chance for Gonzaga to redeem his only loss, and possibly be a title eliminator, at least for Gonzaga.
