Sherman Pendergarst dies with cancer at 45 – UFC News
Sherman Pendergarst, heavyweight fighter, died of cancer on Friday at the Genesis Medical Cener in Davenport. Pat Miletich, Sherman’s training partner, informed ESPN.com of his the heavyweight’s demise.
“I really hate it when people (who) care for everyone are afflicted with suffering. He was such a gentle soul.” said Pat.
Talking about Sherman’s last fight against Bruce Nelson on February 18, Pat revealed, “I can confirm that he had cancer for his last fight. I was (angry) when I found out that he had already fought.”
Sherman also fought in UFC once, when he lost via first round knockout to heavyweight Antoni Hardonk in 2006. Later on, Sherman appeared on Bellator in 2009, losing to Joey Beltran in via first round TKO.
Sherman held a professional record of 11-18 with one No Contest in his portfolio.
“I stopped training him after learning that he had been diagnosed with cancer. I wanted him to quit fighting,” added Pat.
During his tenure as a martial artist, Sherman failed to make his mark. He was not among the top-notch bunch of UFC, neither of other organisations.
Sherman was diagnosed with colon cancer a year back. However, the heavyweight did not retire and insisted to participate in the sport.
Sherman’s pre-fight tests did not confirm him with cancer.
“It was just HIV, Hepatitis B and C. And they all came back negative. That was all that was on that blood test. So there we wouldn't have known (about his cancer). "On our medical form, we asked him several questions, there are 10 or so, and one of them
is, 'Do you have a serious condition?' And, of course, everything he said was no, no. no. So we didn't catch anything there,” said Linda Grogorvk, commission representative.
Linda added that if the commission knew of Sherman’s condition, they would not have let him fight in the first place.
Although not among the most popular names of UFC, Sherman’s participation will indeed be missed. As Pat puts it, he was a gentle soul. His act of fighting knowing he had cancer was indeed brave and he will be known for it in sweet words.
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