Chase Sherman[1] (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC.
Born and raised in D'Iberville, Mississippi, Sherman played football at D'Iberville High School. He continued with the sport on a scholarship to Jones Junior College, before transferring to NCAA Division II Delta State University after two years. At Delta State, Sherman helped the team reach the Division II National Championship in 2010 as an offensive tackle.[4] Sherman also earned a bachelor's degree in sports management and exercise science from Delta State.[5] In 2019, Sherman revealed that he had graduated from the fire academy, and is eligible to work as a firefighter.[6]
After amassing an amateur record of 4–0, Sherman made his professional debut in April 2014. Over the next two years he fought ten times and amassed a record of 9–1; all of his wins came by TKO in the first round.[7]
Sherman made his promotional debut on August 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 92 against Justin Ledet.[8] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[9]
Sherman next faced Walt Harris on January 15, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 103.[10] He lost the fight by knockout in the second round.[11]
For his third fight for the promotion, Sherman was scheduled to face Dmitry Poberezhets at UFC 211 on May 13, 2017. However, Poberezhets was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by newcomer Rashad Coulter.[12] Sherman won the fight by knockout in the second round.[13] The back-and-forth action earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.[14]
Prior to his fourth fight in UFC, Sherman revealed he had signed a new, four-fight contract with UFC.[15]
For his next fight, Sherman was tapped as a short notice replacement for Christian Colombo and faced Damian Grabowski on July 22, 2017, at UFC on Fox 25.[16] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[17]
Sherman faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on November 25, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 122.[18] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[19]
Sherman faced Justin Willis on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128.[20] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[21]
In what marked the last fight of his contract, Sherman faced Augusto Sakai at UFC Fight Night 137 on September 22, 2018.[22] He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.[23][24]
Sherman made his comeback to Island Fights 51 on December 21, 2018, against Frank Tate. He won by TKO in the first round.[25]
Sherman next faced Jeremy May on February 7, 2019, at Island Fights 52.[26] He won the fight by TKO in the very first round.[27]
Sherman faced Rashaun Jackson on May 9, 2019, at Island Fights 56. He won the fight by TKO in the first round.[28]
Sherman was then set to fight former M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion Kenny Garner on April 11, 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]
Sherman returned to UFC and faced Ike Villanueva on May 13, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira.[30] Outclassing Villanueva on the feet, Sherman won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[31] Sherman received nine month USADA suspension for testing positive for Anastrozole from a in-competition sample collected on May 13, 2020. He became eligible to fight again on February 13, 2021.[32]
Sherman was scheduled to face Parker Porter on April 17, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 22.[33] However, Porter was removed from the event for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Andrei Arlovski.[34] Sherman lost the fight via unanimous decision.[35]
Sherman faced Parker Porter on August 21, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 29.[36] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[37]
As the last bout of his prevailing contract, Sherman faced Jake Collier on January 15, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 32.[38][3] He lost the bout via rear-naked choke submission in round one.[39]
After the loss, it was announced that Sherman's contract was not renewed.[40]
Sherman was re-signed by the UFC four days after he was released the second time, as he replaced Tanner Boser against Alexander Romanov at UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade.[41] However, the fight was cancelled when Sherman was deemed unable to compete due to a "minor heath issue" on the day of the event[42] and the pair was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 35.[42] Sherman lost the fight via keylock submission in the first round.[43]
Sherman faced Jared Vanderaa on July 9, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev.[44] He won the fight via TKO in round three.[45] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[46]
Sherman was scheduled to face Josh Parisian on November 5, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 214.[47] However, Parisian pulled out of the fight hours before it was to take place due to medical issues.[48]
Sherman faced Waldo Cortes-Acosta on November 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 215.[49] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[50]
Sherman was scheduled to face Chris Barnett on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287.[51] However, Barnett pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in early April and was replaced by Karl Williams.[52] In turn, Sherman withdrew the day of the event due to a medical issue and the bout was scrapped.[53]
Sherman was rescheduled against Karl William on May 13, 2023, at UFC on ABC 4, losing the bout via unanimous decision.[54]
After the loss, it was reported on May 16 that Sherman was no longer on the UFC roster.[55]
Sherman faced Carl Seumanutafa at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 on October 28, 2023.[56] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[57]
Sherman faced Alex Nicholson at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 7 on March 2, 2024.[58] Sherman won the fight by a left-hook knockout in the first round.[59]
Sherman was scheduled to face Greg Hardy on November 15, 2024 at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8.[60] However, Hardy withdrew for unknown reasons and as replaced by Maurice Greene. He lost the bout by a standing guillotine-choke submission.[61]
In the spring of 2019, Sherman signed a contract with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He faced Sam Shewmaker at Bare Knuckle FC 5 on April 6, 2019. The bout ended in a split draw.[62]
In his second fight for the promotion, Sherman challenged Arnold Adams for the BKFC heavyweight title and Police Gazette Bare Knuckle title at Bare Knuckle FC 7 on August 10, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision.[63]
Sherman was then set to defend the titles against Joey Beltran at Bare Knuckle FC 9 on November 16, 2019.[64] After a hard-fought five rounds, Sherman lost the fight via unanimous decision.[65]
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