Greasy Georges: Is St. Pierre a Cheater?
BJ Penn called welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre plenty of bad names before their fight at UFC 94, but “quitter” was the one that most stood out. Having been soundly defeated by St. Pierre last Saturday, Penn can no longer question St. Pierre’s mental toughness.
He can, however, question whether St. Pierre is a cheater. After reviewing footage from Saturday night, it is glaringly evident that St. Pierre’s cornerman Phil Nurse rubbed Vaseline on the champion’s shoulders, arms, and back on multiple occasions. While several of Nurse’s efforts were caught by Nevada State Athletic Commission officials, one must wonder if such illegal efforts have gone unnoticed by past St. Pierre foes. Better yet, one must question whether or not Vaseline played a part in some of the champion’s most recent wins.
Rudy Valentino, head trainer for Penn, for one believes it’s been a tactic often deployed by the Canadian. The trainer told Inside Fighting that he warned the Athletic Commission that St. Pierre had been greased up during Penn-GSP I in 2006 and that Matt Serra’s camp claimed similar fouls had been committed in Serra-GSP I in 2007. Although he did not make excuses for his fighter’s loss, Valentino expressed a genuine concern that Team GSP was violating proper corner conduct.
Normally, we’d pull the “sour grapes” card on such claims. After all, it is easy for a losing camp to try to make light of their fighter’s recent defeat by crying wolf. Thus, in this case, we have decided not to question the fighter, but to investigate those that care for the competitor in between rounds.
You see, for the second time in a month, illegal tactics were uncovered in combat sports. On January 24, boxer Antonio Margarito was found to have a hardening agent inside his hand wraps prior to defending his WBA welterweight title against Shane Mosley. While we won’t jump to conclusions as to whether Margarito’s is found guilty or innocent, we would bet that the issue – currently being investigated by California State Athletic officials – ultimately implicates Margarito’s cornermen.
Truth be told, the actions of Nurse and Team Margarito bring to light repeat questionable behaviors and judgment calls made or shown by cornermen.
In the Margarito case, insiders are now questioning the integrity of the fighter’s camp. Moreover, members of the boxing community are left wondering if Margarito’s renowned punching has been exposed as fraudulent. They are seriously pondering whether Margarito’s rise to stardom was aided by mechanisms of foul play and cheating.
For what it’s worth, can you blame them? What else are they suppose to believe? That Margarito didn’t do the same in big wins over Miguel Cotto and Kermit Cintron? That Margarito didn’t know he had plaster on his hands pre-Mosley?
And how about Nurse? Should we be led to believe that he “accidentally” smeared remnants of Vaseline all over GSP’s body? That he didn’t realize he was giving GSP an unfair, slippery advantage against fluid, leverage-seeking grapplers by spreading grease everywhere? Or, must we summons the will to realize that Nurse and other rule-breaking corners are completely clueless fools?
Regardless of how these circumstances play out, one thing is abundantly clear. In combat sports, there are plenty of cornermen who lack the qualifications to properly serve a fighter. It takes more than a bucket, an end-swell, and a Q-tip to correctly protect and guide those who take punishment for a living.
Whether it’s Vaseline or plaster of Paris, combat sports have found themselves between a rock and a, err, greasy place. Let’s hope Athletic Commissions can wipe up the mess.
- GSP greaser as bad as Margarito trainer says White
- Is GSP’s cornerman Nurse believable?
- Team St. Pierre formally responds to NSAC request filed by BJ Penn following UFC 94
- BJ Penn files formal complaint with NSAC against Georges St. Pierre over UFC 94 greasing controversy
- Penn camp states case, NSAC chief indicates it’s time to move on
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