With response from St. Pierre's camp filed, NSAC sets March 17 review
While many questions have been brought forth by both B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre's camps following their UFC 94 main-event bout, the time has now been set to start getting answers.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) that the NSAC will be reviewing the Jan. 31 bout at their next official meeting, set for March 17.
The review follows weeks of accusations and rebuttals, but does not guarantee the allegations of excessive "greasing" of St. Pierre will be immediately resolved.
Penn's camp initially filed a letter which served as an official request of a formal investigation just days after the UFC 94 bout. In the letter, Penn's attorney, Raffi A. Nahabedian, alleged that St. Pierre's team applied excessive amounts of Vaseline to the fighter's shoulders and back between rounds in an effort to gain an unfair advantage.
The letter went on to explain that St. Pierre was very slippery during the bout, and that the condition rendered Penn unable to properly implement his preferred Brazilian jiu-jitsu strategies.
Penn's camp would then plead their case in the court of public opinion with a nearly seven-minute video montage of clips of the Vaseline apparently being applied, commission executives wiping St. Pierre down, interviews with St. Pierre's former opponents, including Sean Sherk (who jokes that St. Pierre seemed oiled up), as well as other excerpts from recent coverage of the incident.
While obviously one-sided in nature, Penn's video has been widely viewed since its relief and proven persuasive with many fans.
Though the original request for investigation was not considered an official complaint, Kizer immediately requested responses to the letter from the members of St. Pierre's team. That response came in the way of a 17-page statement from St. Pierre's camp which included supporting statements from cornermen Phil Nurse and Greg Jackson.
Also included were statements from the developer of the "breathing technique" St. Pierre's camp asserts was falsely observed as Vaseline application, Steven Friend, and St. Pierre's grappling coach John Danaher. The entire response has been posted for public viewing by the Los Angeles Times.
The response insists that all parties involved had no intentions of participating in unfair or illegal actions and even goes so far as to offer a series of steps the NSAC could implement to ensure there are no further incidents involving a controversial application of Vaseline.
St. Pierre's camp has also allegedly released a video compilation of its own showing the described breathing technique developed by Friend used in several situations. The video is available for public viewing on YouTube.
For his part, UFC President Dana White has said the incident was an unfortunate -- and unnecessary -- factor in what should have been a celebration of an epic battle.
"[St. Pierre's cornerman] didn't have to put grease on him," White recently told The Canadian Press. "Georges St. Pierre was winning the fight, he was dominant in the standup and on the ground. To have a fight or a fighter like St. Pierre tainted over a stupidity, I hate it. It sucks."
The March 17 hearing will be another step in the NSAC's quest to determine what, if any, disciplinary measures should be taken in response to Penn's allegations. With Penn's camp still intending to file a formal complaint, the meeting is not expected to be the last we hear of the slippery situation.