It's literally getting slippery in the cage
The greacegate saga between Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn has entered another realm.
I was going to stay away from this topic because I was sure it was going to come and go as an essential non-issue in the sport, but it continues to show its ugly head no matter which MMA site you look on or who you talk to about it.
If you are unfamiliar with the situation, in the BJ/GSP II fight Penn's corner and the athletic commission said that GSP and his corner were illegally using the petroleum jelly they are supplied with.
Typically you use the jelly to put in the bridges of your eyes and any spot you get a cut to stop the bleeding, but after applying the jelly to the face of GSP, his cut man touched his chest and back in a technique that the GSP camp describes as a massage to help breathing and lower the heart rate of St. Pierre heading into the next round.
The illegal act was caught by the Penn camp and the commission then had St. Pierre wiped clean of the jelly, so he would not be slippery.
Because GSP won in such dominating fashion, Penn cried wolf after the fight that GSP was slippery and of course brought up the jelly incident between the first and second round.
What I thought was going to be a non-issue due to the fact that GSP was wiped clean actually exploded with allegations of cheating, and past fighters that GSP fought coming out and saying he was slippery as well.
Since the fight Penn has made many public appearances saying he feels cheated and would welcome a rematch down the road (why he would want one is beyond me) and that he thinks GSP should come clean and admit that he was greased up for that fight and past fights.
Penn went as far as posting a video on his website and filing an official complaint with the athletic commission, I guess if you are going to make accusations you might as well go at them with full force right?
Basically what Penn is doing is classless and is being a sore loser in the worst way possible. Instead, he should be looking ahead to his fight with Kenny Florian at 155lbs and preparing for that rather then worrying about a Welterweight title he is never going to win in the near future.
There will be some good to come out of this whole situation though.
There are changes made in the UFC about who can use the jelly and when, and rightfully so. This is only going to help put a stop to any situation like this arising again and I would plead for the UFC that they are in the right here.
When you think about it hockey, football, baseball and basketball have all been around for years and seen many rule changes along that time. MMA is realistically only 16 years old, and in the world of sports, is still an infant and not everything is going to be perfect right away.
The next time St. Pierre shows he is a dominant fighter is when he will face off with Thiago Alves at UFC 100 there won't be the allegations of any greasing issues. The only problems that might be had will be with Alves and if he makes weight or tests positive for steroids again or not.
I was going to stay away from this topic because I was sure it was going to come and go as an essential non-issue in the sport, but it continues to show its ugly head no matter which MMA site you look on or who you talk to about it.
If you are unfamiliar with the situation, in the BJ/GSP II fight Penn's corner and the athletic commission said that GSP and his corner were illegally using the petroleum jelly they are supplied with.
Typically you use the jelly to put in the bridges of your eyes and any spot you get a cut to stop the bleeding, but after applying the jelly to the face of GSP, his cut man touched his chest and back in a technique that the GSP camp describes as a massage to help breathing and lower the heart rate of St. Pierre heading into the next round.
The illegal act was caught by the Penn camp and the commission then had St. Pierre wiped clean of the jelly, so he would not be slippery.
Because GSP won in such dominating fashion, Penn cried wolf after the fight that GSP was slippery and of course brought up the jelly incident between the first and second round.
What I thought was going to be a non-issue due to the fact that GSP was wiped clean actually exploded with allegations of cheating, and past fighters that GSP fought coming out and saying he was slippery as well.
Since the fight Penn has made many public appearances saying he feels cheated and would welcome a rematch down the road (why he would want one is beyond me) and that he thinks GSP should come clean and admit that he was greased up for that fight and past fights.
Penn went as far as posting a video on his website and filing an official complaint with the athletic commission, I guess if you are going to make accusations you might as well go at them with full force right?
Basically what Penn is doing is classless and is being a sore loser in the worst way possible. Instead, he should be looking ahead to his fight with Kenny Florian at 155lbs and preparing for that rather then worrying about a Welterweight title he is never going to win in the near future.
There will be some good to come out of this whole situation though.
There are changes made in the UFC about who can use the jelly and when, and rightfully so. This is only going to help put a stop to any situation like this arising again and I would plead for the UFC that they are in the right here.
When you think about it hockey, football, baseball and basketball have all been around for years and seen many rule changes along that time. MMA is realistically only 16 years old, and in the world of sports, is still an infant and not everything is going to be perfect right away.
The next time St. Pierre shows he is a dominant fighter is when he will face off with Thiago Alves at UFC 100 there won't be the allegations of any greasing issues. The only problems that might be had will be with Alves and if he makes weight or tests positive for steroids again or not.
