In a recent interview with MMAWeekly, BJ Penn has more interesting words about Sean Sherk. This war of words is not going to end any time soon as Penn calls Sherk a coward.

“For me, honestly, it’s not personal at all,” he stated. “The man was cheating. I called him a cheater; then he got all personal. So I think all the personal stuff is on him. He said this is the first time a fight’s personal and this and that and whatever. I couldn’t care less. I’m just going to go kick his ass.”

Penn has stayed strong on his statements about Sherk’s suspension following his fight with Hermes Franca in July 2007, and still doesn’t back down with the upcoming bout.

“How can you sit around saying you’re the champ, say the other guy’s the fake champ, and you got busted for (steroids)? We knew he was doing ‘roids the whole time, and all this stuff, and about it’s nothing personal, he went and made it all personal. I was calling a spade, a spade.”

It is Sherk’s conviction by the California State Athletic Commission for a positive test following last year’s fight that has spurned the new champion to speak out about any steroid user in mixed martial arts.

“Everybody has questioned my heart, questioned my training ethics, this and that, but I never did something as cowardly as to take any sports enhancement drug,” Penn said. “That’s one thing no one can ever say about me, you know? That I was a coward and took sports enhancement drugs, because I was afraid I was going to get my ass kicked in front of millions of people. So anybody out there who said I never had no heart, at least I wasn’t a coward.”

Penn states that he’s never been tempted by the world of performance enhancing drugs, and believes it’s the type of person in the sport of MMA that has transitioned to the philosophy of cheating and taking the short cut to success by taking drugs.

“To me in this sport, it’s fighting, it’s mixed martial arts, and I feel there’s too many athletes and not enough fighters,” commented Penn. “I think these people going in taking these sports enhancement drugs, they’re not real fighters, they’re athletes. I’m a fighter. I’m a real fighter. That’s all I did my whole life.