UFC 211 winner Chase Sherman has plan for future in 'not very stacked' heavyweight division

DALLAS – Chase Sherman avoided the dreaded 0-3 start to a UFC career when he picked up his first octagon victory at UFC 211. Now he knows exactly what he wants out of his career going forward.

Sherman (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) came out on the winning end of a wild slugfest when he knocked out Rashad Coulter (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the second round of their heavyweight fight on Saturday’s card at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

After dropping his first two UFC appearances, Sherman knew he needed to get his hand raised to keep his place on the roster. Fortunately for him, the heavyweight division is far from talent-loaded, which from Sherman’s perspective is what gave him both a third chance in the UFC and will allow his career to flourish from here.

“I’m blessed enough to be in a division that’s not very stacked,” Sherman told reporters after his victory. “It’s not stacked with very young, athletic guys. Every time I’ve come out here to fight, win lose or draw, I’ve come to fight. I’m not coming to cuddle with you on the ground and kiss you on the neck and tell you everything is going to be OK. I’m not coming to point fight you and dance around. I’m coming to knock your teeth out. That’s what the fans want.

“Hopefully tonight they see that and I finish out (the last fight on) this contract with a few win and get on a win-streak. It’s not a very deep division. Three or four wins and you’re in the thick of things.”

Sherman dropped his first two UFC appearances with a unanimous decision defeat to Justin Ledet at UFC Fight Night 92 this past August followed by a TKO loss to Walt Harris at UFC Fight Night 103 in January. “The Vanilla Gorilla” showed signs of promise in those fights, but he couldn’t discover a path to victory.

He managed to find one at UFC 211, though, as he battered Coulter with leg kicks until he was hobbling around the octagon. His injured opponent showed tremendous durability, swinging back and landing some big shots of his own. Sherman stayed smart, though, and eventually landed a fight-ending shot at 3:36 of Round 2.

He said it was the type of performance he wanted out of himself, but feels there’s many new levels he can reach to achieve even greater success as he looks for more wins under the UFC banner.

“I want to finish out this contract with the newer guys that are coming in too and really get developed and finish out this contract with this some wins and start making my way up,” Sherman said. “I’m humble, so I know I could obviously call out a top-15 guy, but I’ve only been in this sport for five years.

“Now I’m here with (Mike Winkeljohn) and Greg Jackson and I’m starting to develop more and more and putting more tools in the bag. I’m humble enough to know I got off to slow start, and I’m confident enough to know in three years by the time I’m 30 I’ll be at the top of this division.”

For complete coverage of UFC 211, check out the UFC Events section of the site.