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Posted 02/06/2009 at 01:58 AM
I missed the whole 'Grease Gate' controversy concerning the Georges 'Rush' St. Pierre-B.J. 'The Prodigy' Penn fight at UFC 94 even though I was in the third row of the media section. The media section was behind Penn's corner, and I was amazed that he was standing between rounds for a couple of reasons. 'The Prodigy' is known for having questionable stamina, and I was surprised that he wouldn't sit down between rounds. He was also taking considerable damage from a fighter that outweighed him inside the octagon by 15-20 pounds. Besides taking a quick glimse at Penn between rounds, I was busy writing my story with a break in the action.
St. Pierre's corner was on the other side of the octagon, and the only time I saw his corner was after the fourth round when I was looking for a reaction from both corners after St. Pierre's dominant round. Even in the postfight press conference, there was never one word uttered on Vaseline or greasing, just how dominating St. Pierre's performance was against Penn.
I've seen all the video out there on the fight, and I don't believe St. Pierre or his corner was 'greasing' to get an advantage. I've heard an interview where the French Canadian talks about trainer Phil Nurse rubbing his shoulders to break down the lactic acid, and there was never any excessive Vaseline on his hands. Nurse was doing the same routine on St. Pierre's body in previous fights with no such discussion.
It doesn't seem like the best strategy to piss off the mild-mannered St. Pierre before a fight. Former champion Matt Hughes got under St. Pierre's skin by constantly bringing up his victory by armbar at UFC 50. St. Pierre got his payback at UFC 79 when Hughes verbally submitted to an armbar.
Penn was talking about how St. Pierre quit in his loss to Matt Serra by tapping out due to strikes, and saying he would never quit. The Hawaiian also stated numerous times that he would fight to the death in this bout, but St. Pierre got Penn's corner to call the one-sided affair after the fourth round.
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