UFC News: Former Lighweight Champion Sean Sherk offers to train Conor McGregor for Khabib rematch
What's the story?
Former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk has extended an offer to train Conor McGregor for his rematch against the reigning Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sherk has been retired from MMA since 2013 and has been a lifelong wrestler and also a trainer for top athletes in the sport.
In case you didn't know...
Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov battled at UFC 229 for the UFC Lightweight Championship on Oct. 6, 2018. Conor made his return to the sport of MMA after a long hiatus of 2 years since his last fight when he beat Eddie Alvarez via 2nd round KO to win the Lightweight Title. With his historic victory, Conor became the first person in UFC's history to hold belts in two different weight classes simultaneously.
However, as McGregor shifted his focus on other sports outside MMA and went on to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, the UFC proceeded to strip Conor of his belt and Khabib Nurmagomedov took the strap with his victory over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 on April 8, 2018.
McGregor made his return to the octagon in the biggest UFC event ever against the Russian grappler Khabib, but it wasn't his night this time around. Khabib dominated Conor throughout the fight with his elite sambo wrestling style, to finally get the submission victory in the 4th round of the fight.
Check out the recap to the fight below.
The heart of the matter
With UFC 229 in the books and Khabib reigning supreme in their contest, there were numerous rumors regarding a potential rematch between the former two-division champ Conor McGregor and the reigning undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov after the Irishman issued a statement demanding a rematch.
It was very much evident in their first fight that Conor's grappling skills are way sub-par to the Russian champion's. Khabib has been a lifelong Sambo practitioner and has been highly decorated in the sport as well. He is a two-time world Sambo champion before making the transition to MMA and has been utilizing his dominant grappling base in his rise to the top of the sport.
Wrestling and grappling have always been an Achilles heel for Conor, as the master striker has often faced problems dealing with dominant wrestlers before. With a rematch possibly on the horizon, former UFC Lightweight Champion and one of the pioneers of the sport, Sean Sherk has offered to train McGregor in the art of wrestling for his upcoming rematch with Khabib.
Sherk took to Facebook to issue a 'Note to McGregor' and offer his services to the former champ. Read the post below
New fans of the sport might not know Sean Sherk, as he has been retired from the sport since 2013 so a little introduction might be in order.
Sean Sherk joined the UFC in the early days of the promotion and his first fight in the UFC was way back at UFC 30. Sherk used to compete at both welterweight and lightweight divisions. The dominant wrestler quickly rose in the ranking to challenge the UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes for the welterweight title but was defeated in a hard fought 5 round war. Later as the UFC added the Lightweight division, Sherk made the transition to 155 lbs. Sherk fought Kenny Florian for the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 64 back in 2006 and won the belt, becoming a UFC champion. Sherk would defend his belt once to later lose it to another Hall of Famer, BJ Penn.
Sean Sherk made his mark in the UFC in it's early days as he brought his top-class Grecko-Roman wrestling to the octagon and dominated his opponents with relentless pressure and explosive takedowns. Sherk fought his last fight at UFC 119 in 2010 and later officially announced his retirement from the sport in 2013.
What's next?
It will be interesting to see how and if Conor McGregor responds to Sherk's offer. There is no doubt in the caliber and wrestling pedigree of Sean Sherk but Conor has been involved with a close-knit team SBG Ireland, ever since he made pro.
Conor knows that he needs to improve his wrestling base many-folds if he wishes to dethrone Khabib in their rematch. An elite Greco-Roman wrestler such as Sherk can surely accelerate that process and be a valuable addition to McGregor's camp.