Controversy: B.J. Penn Files Complaint That Georges St. Pierre Used Vaseline

[SinCitysmallGUY]

B.J. Penn's camp has filed a formal complaint with the Nevada State Athletic Commission over Vaseline that was allegedly rubbed on Georges St. Pierre's back between rounds one and two.  UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that he was aware of the complaint, and said he personally witnessed members of the commission take the Vaseline away from GSP's camp and rebuke them in the Octagon between rounds.

"I saw the commission jump up there and flipping out," said Dana White.  They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges' back in between rounds.  It was one and two, I think."

"The guys from the athletic commission went up there and started screaming at them.  Knocked the Vaseline and kicked the Vaseline out of the Octagon."

White added that "some Vaseline on a guy's back didn't change the outcome of that fight, but you don't do it," and said the blame should fall on the cornerman responsible and not GSP.

"If a guy was intentionally putting Vaseline on a guy's back, he should never corner a mixed martial arts fight again."

MMA Frenzy has GSP's side of the story:

During a post-fight appearance on ESPN’s MMA Live St-Pierre explained that one of his trainers applied Vaseline to his face between the first and second rounds then rubbed his back with the same hand between the second and third rounds, accidentally applying some remaining Vaseline to his back. An NSAC official who witnessed the transfer had the Vaseline immediately wiped off with a towel.

Little is likely to come of the complaint as St-Pierre was already dominating Penn prior to the incident and the substance was immediately removed, ensuring that it had no effect on the bout’s outcome, however we’ll pass along more information on the situation when it becomes available.

Zach Arnold is calling for action from the Nevada State Athletic Commission:

If the NSAC agrees that indeed rules were violated, it will immediately taint St. Pierre’s dominant win over Penn. I realize and you realize that St. Pierre put on a dominant performance, but Penn’s camp has a perfectly legitimate gripe here if the accusations of vaseline usage (in this manner) are true. While Dana White tried to soften the blow of the allegations about possible illegal vaseline usage on St. Pierre, the fact that White is trying to deflect all the heat for the incident on a cornerman and not on St. Pierre is unacceptable.

As I laid out recently in a new article, the heat is on Keith Kizer and the NSAC. First, questions about Antonio Margarito (stemming from the California State Athletic Commission’s investigation into him). Second, questions promptly raised by Ivan Trembow regarding the NSAC not performing out-of-competition drug testing for the last two month’s worth of MMA shows. And now, you can add this brand new complaint filed by Penn’s camp against St. Pierre.

It doesn't seem like B.J. has much of a case that the vaseline cost him the fight as he was already being thoroughly dominated. Nevertheless, this appears to be blatantly bad cornering and should be fully investigated. Those who are not familiar with the stories of Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama should read up on a similar, even more flagrant case from Japan.

[chaos]

Oh brother, just take your asswhoopin like a man, STFU and stay in the 155lb division where you belong.

[slacker]

I htink Penn should file a complaint about gsp and how his fist made it impossible for Penn to see wtf was going on and perhaps further complain about being out powered maybe gsp was on steroids too

[titusisback]

BJ Penn just proved it's actually he who's a little whiny bitch and a quitter too

[burn2live]

I htink Penn should file a complaint about gsp and how his fist made it impossible for Penn to see wtf was going on and perhaps further complain about being out powered maybe gsp was on steroids too

 

[Faust]

It suddenly makes sense now why BJ quit.
He said he would fight to the death, but that doesn't count if the other guy has some vaseline on his back.

maybe gsp was on steroids too

Roid rage! This proves it.

[slacker]

George is on steroids and Gatorade its all part of our government conspiracy to defeat the chunky Hawaiian

[Faust]

BJ Penn just proved it's actually he who's a little whiny bitch and a quitter too

Don't talk about BJ "to the death" Penn like that.

[slacker]

who is gsp



j/k he is the chosen one

[gracie bjj]

 as far as the vaseline thing,i really dont think it would have changed the outcome,gsp is just to big and strong for bj,i heard gsp told someone he was close to 195 on fight night.skill wise they are prolly both pretty close but as we mentioned,when you got 2 guys with the same skills the stronger one will come out on top everytime.if a punishment is handed down for the vaseline thing it should be to the cornerman,gsp aint at fault,gsp is focused on bj and the fight hes in,he aint asking his corner guys,what exactly are you rubbing on my back?lol.everyone knows im a big penn fan but gsp clearly dominated him,im not gonna make excuses cause there are NONE!i still am a big penn fan but gsp is just on a tear right now and hes awesome.ive met gsp and the guy is a hellava nice guy,hes one of those guys that doesnt let the celebrity thing affect him,he talked to me and even rolled with me,after destroying me on the mat for 5 minutes,he subbed me 10 times in 4 minutes,lol.to show you how cool he is,he told me that i had great potential and had great technique,he tried to lift my spirits after he crushed me,thats pretty cool on his part.im a washed up 43 year old,but i still enjoy rolling with the young bucks to keep me as sharp as possible,if i get through a hard training session without getting a little muscle pull or tear it was a great practice,lol.you younger guys wont understand that yet but the some of the older heads know what i mean.gsp is great for the sport and is a very worthy champion,he won in dominating fashion over a guy who usually dominates people,very impressive imo

[George Whorewell]

GSP should file a complaint against BJ for forcing him to waste time training and preparing for what was essentially a beatdown with an amateur sparring partner. He should also sue BJ for the money he made on the fight and donate it to charity. What a fucking pussy.

[danielson]

GSP should file a complaint against BJ for forcing him to waste time training and preparing for what was essentially a beatdown with an amateur sparring partner. He should also sue BJ for the money he made on the fight and donate it to charity. What a fucking pussy.

I agree BJ should not make a dime from the fight. He threatened to literally kill GSP and wound up quitting like a little girl. If you are willing to "kill" a guy, shouldn't you at least give it your all He doesn't respect his opponents or the fans who paid to see a good fight.

[MindSpin]

as far as the vaseline thing,i really dont think it would have changed the outcome,gsp is just to big and strong for bj,i heard gsp told someone he was close to 195 on fight night.skill wise they are prolly both pretty close but as we mentioned,when you got 2 guys with the same skills the stronger one will come out on top everytime.if a punishment is handed down for the vaseline thing it should be to the cornerman,gsp aint at fault,gsp is focused on bj and the fight hes in,he aint asking his corner guys,what exactly are you rubbing on my back?lol.everyone knows im a big penn fan but gsp clearly dominated him,im not gonna make excuses cause there are NONE!i still am a big penn fan but gsp is just on a tear right now and hes awesome.ive met gsp and the guy is a hellava nice guy,hes one of those guys that doesnt let the celebrity thing affect him,he talked to me and even rolled with me,after destroying me on the mat for 5 minutes,he subbed me 10 times in 4 minutes,lol.to show you how cool he is,he told me that i had great potential and had great technique,he tried to lift my spirits after he crushed me,thats pretty cool on his part.im a washed up 43 year old,but i still enjoy rolling with the young bucks to keep me as sharp as possible,if i get through a hard training session without getting a little muscle pull or tear it was a great practice,lol.you younger guys wont understand that yet but the some of the older heads know what i mean.gsp is great for the sport and is a very worthy champion,he won in dominating fashion over a guy who usually dominates people,very impressive imo

Really cool post.

[SinCitysmallGUY]

Sports Illustrated breaks the story:

After reportedly deciding to shelve a complaint against UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, it appears B.J. Penn and his representatives have had a change of heart.

Penn's trainer, Rudy Valentino, told SI.com by text message that Penn has decided to move forth in filing a formal complaint with the Nevada State Athletic Commission alleging Georges St. Pierre's corner knowingly and illegally used Vaseline on his body to gain an unfair advantage Saturday night.

"Lawyers for B.J. are writting (sic) a complaint with the commission," Valentino said. "I just spoke to J.D. and B.J. a few minutes ago. They feel they have ations (sic)."

As far as my reaction to this news, I'm in agreement with this comment by BE reader Dropkick434:

It comes down to this. No fighter should ever have to worry about their opponent trying to grease themselves in a fight. The fact that this is tolerable to anyone is a shock to me. And the fact a writer I formally respected on my favorite site takes the side that the victim in this case has no integrity because he wants his opponent to fight by the same rules is absolutely reprehensible. Victim might be over dramatic but I don’t understand why this has all been about BJ when it sounds like Chuck Liddell had a bigger part in starting the controversy and we wouldn’t even be talking about this if GSP’s team hadn’t rubbed vaseline all over his shoulders and back.

Zak Woods has a couple of good historical analogies (he also agrees with me that Rome is Wrong):

the suspicious use of some topical product by Kenny Rogers in the 2006 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals correctly identified that Rogers had some substance on his hand that was affecting his pitching ability. The impact was not as great to change the outcome of the World Series, St. Louis won, but the Cardinals were in the right to point out a violation and demand an investigation, the latter of which they didn't do.


The second analgous example comes from the world of boxing when Alexis Arguello fought Aaron Pryor. Pryor won the first bout with a techincal knockout in the 14th round. However the fight was tainted when Pryor's trainer called for a special water bottle right before the TKO, referring to it as "the bottle I mixed", leading to speculation it was tainted. The two met again and that time it only took 10 rounds for Pryor to defeat Arguello.

There are several parallels in these two events as well as UFC 94. All involve suspicious substances that could be construed as cheating. Yet, in the two examples I citied, the subtances did not affect the result.
Luke has already had to shut down comments in his last post on this topic so consider yourselves warned to play nice in the comments. No name calling and try to keep your disagreements reasonable and friendly.

Personally I think even B.J. Penn agrees this didn't effect the fight outcome, but since Mayhem Miller and several other previous opponents of GSP have complained about this practice, I think it merits investigation by the NSAC. Most importantly, I think it means that Thiago Alves will get a fair chance to take the title from GSP without having to worry that he'll be greased.

[americanbulldog]

Fighters who claim GSP greases:

Mayhem Miller
Sherk
Serra
Penn

Would it have made a difference, not so much.  GSP was dominating the stand up and could have eventually finished it here. 

[zimanu]

Fighters who claim GSP greases:

Mayhem Miller
Sherk
Serra
Penn

Would it have made a difference, not so much.  GSP was dominating the stand up and could have eventually finished it here. 

Of course GSP was dominating, but could he have been submitted by Serra or Penn had he not been greased? That's possible... In the end, it's not about BJ or Serra or GSP, but it's about being clear on the rules and applying them... Whatever comes out of this, at least people will be more careful in the future and won't be able to blame it on a stupid mistake...

[Geo]

seems to me if GSP was using grease (and from what I've just read about dana acknowledging it I don't) their should be some film footage of it,I mean they do have cameras on the fighters in between rounds for just about the whole time

[MindSpin]

seems to me if GSP was using grease (and from what I've just read about dana acknowledging it I don't) their should be some film footage of it,I mean they do have cameras on the fighters in between rounds for just about the whole time

[George Whorewell]

 This is such fucking bullshit and another testament to how pathetic BJ is. Dana White himself said the Vasiline was taken away and GSP was checked between rounds to make sure it wasn't being used. Now all of a sudden 3 other people who got destroyed by GSP come out of the woodworks to bitch. Unbelievable.

[no one]

This is such fucking bullshit and another testament to how pathetic BJ is. Dana White himself said the Vasiline was taken away and GSP was checked between rounds to make sure it wasn't being used. Now all of a sudden 3 other people who got destroyed by GSP come out of the woodworks to bitch. Unbelievable.

wrong.

dana white said :

I saw the commission jump up there and flip out," said White.  "They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges' back in between rounds. It was one and two, I think. I personally didn't see it, the commission did. And that's about as illegal as you can get... I'm sure the commission is going to deal (with it). You could have put Vaseline on from head to toe, that wasn't the point, the point was you don't do it. It's illegal. The guy who did it needs to be punished, it's not (St. Pierre's) fault. The question is what happens to a guy that does that. You've got to put the smack down on him. He should lose his license."

whether it affected the outcome or not is besides the point. it is still illegal.

[titusisback]

Looks like BJ wants a rematch and get beaten like a little bitch again

[George Whorewell]

"I saw the commission jump up there and flipping out," said Dana White.  They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges' back in between rounds.  It was one and two, I think."

"The guys from the athletic commission went up there and started screaming at them.  Knocked the Vaseline and kicked the Vaseline out of the Octagon."

^^ No one- this is what Dana said

Also, that is the fucking point. If it didnt effect the outcome of the fight, who gives a shit?

[no one]

"I saw the commission jump up there and flipping out," said Dana White.  They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges' back in between rounds.  It was one and two, I think."

"The guys from the athletic commission went up there and started screaming at them.  Knocked the Vaseline and kicked the Vaseline out of the Octagon."

^^ No one- this is what Dana said

Also, that is the fucking point. If it didnt effect the outcome of the fight, who gives a shit?

it is illegal.

[George Whorewell]

So is using recreational drugs, cheating on your taxes, stealing cable and driving drunk. If the outcome of the fight would have been the same anyway, who gives a flying fuck? Thats like penalizing a hitter in baseball for having a corked bat after he gets an RBI when the pitcher walks in the winning run with the bases loaded and the batter doesnt have to swing. It had zero impact on the outcome. It is irrelevant.

Not to mention the fact the vaseline was taken away after one round.

[slacker]

bj is a punk point blank