Chase Sherman has had a whirlwind of a year.
Last May, Sherman was signed back into the UFC and got a TKO win over Ike Villanueva. After that, however, he was suspended by USADA for failing to disclose. He took a supplement months before he was with the UFC, and didn’t write it down on the sheet.
Then, after getting suspended, Sherman dealt with some personal issues with his fiancee, losing their house, and being in a car crash among countless other things. To make matters worse, just before he was set to fly out to Las Vegas, Sherman’s longtime cornerman tested positive for COVID-19, so he won’t be with him on fight night. But, on Saturday night, Sherman is eager to return to the Octagon against Andrei Arlovski and inflict a year’s worth of pain on him.
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“Absolutely. Everything happens for a reason. It has been a f*****g hell of a camp with adversity left and right. Now it is all unfolding and it is coming down to this big fight,” Sherman said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “This is a huge opportunity for me… My cornerman just got COVID so now I’m scrambling to find a replacement for him. Luckily, I got my test results back and I was negative, so it is like f**k what else can go wrong? Andrei Arlovski has got something coming to him. He’s going to have a full year of pain and struggle inflicted upon him, he’s my outlet. All those things prepare you for what is to come.”
Originally, Sherman was set to fight Parker Porter, but he tested positive for COVID-19, so the fight was off. When he got the news, Sherman wasn’t sure he would get a fight, but Andrei Arlovski decided to take the fight on short notice, which he is glad about but also leaves him feeling disrespected. For Sherman, he thinks Arlovski is only taking this fight on short notice because he thinks it’s an easy fight.
“I didn’t know what to expect, everything happens for a reason. I believe it is my time. You know, it is the circle of life,” Sherman said. “Out with the old and in with the new. You are seeing it a lot with these guys being released, it just happens. It’s now my turn to bury the hatchet. I have nothing against him, he’s a legend, he’s done so much for the sport, but it’s my time now.”
Against Arlovski, Sherman doesn’t believe in the narrative that his chin is better. Instead, he thinks his recent opponents are showing him too much respect and letting Arlovski use his point fight style to win.
However, for Sherman, he plans to bring the fight to the former champ and put him away early.
“He’s not getting knocked out because look how he’s fighting. He’s fighting not to lose, he’s not fighting to win. He knows he’s at the end of his career, he’s not getting into title contention again,” Sherman said. “What is he doing this for? Is he doing it to finish out his contract, is he doing it to get paid? Because he is not adding on to his legacy, that’s for sure. He is going out there to point fight his way to a unanimous decision. That’s it.
“These younger cats he’s beating are going out there and giving him too much respect for his name. That’s not what I’m here to do,” Sherman continued. “I’ve never fought like that. He’s either going to have to dig deep and want to fight or I’m going to finish him early.”
If Chase Sherman does finish Andrei Arlovski early, he knows it would be big for his career and help him move up the heavyweight ranks.
“I think maybe it helps boost me into more of a household name and gets me a new contract,” Sherman concluded. “It also lets them know that Chase is for real and I’m a different fighter this time around.”
Do you think Chase Sherman will beat Andrei Arlovski?