Penn says beating through cheating gave him a concussion
Team Penn led by fighter B.J. Penn along with his parents, his brother, a cornerman and two lawyers laid out their case to Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday. The UFC lightweight champ made a convincing argument that the Vaseline used by the Georges St. Pierre corner on their fighter during the fight at UFC 94 led to some serious injuries for the Hawaiian:
"I don't remember much after the second round because of the beating I took in the second round," said Penn. "I do remember somewhere in the second round, I was thinking 'he knows I can't hold him, now he's going to be fearless with what he's doing'. I suffered a bad concusion during the fight and I really don't know what happened past the second. It's just kind of in and out."
Penn said he had dizzy spells for a few days following the fight and couldn't eat because of tooth pain. He also had a couple of MRIs to ensure there wasn't more serious damage.
Watch Penn explain his injuries and why he thought the NSAC let him down on fight night (4:20):
Penn and especially his mother, thought the NSAC could've done more to protect the fighter once they realized GSP's shoulders, back and arms were covered with Vaseline:
"We (gave them) a pre-bout warning (about him greasing) and the commission did catch him greasing. I wish that they did actually walk across and tell me, 'hey man you'd better stay off your back, this guy is greased. Your armbars and your triangles, they're going to be worthless. You're going to have a hard time holding his head and you're going to take some punishment on the bottom'."
Penn was asked why he didn't say something to the referee or officials during the fight. His answer was consistent with what other fighters have said about calling out opponents during a fight. Matt Hughes and Sean Sherk told Cage Writer that there's too much going on and there's a singular focus on beating the man across the way.
Penn's Las Vegas lawyer Raffi Nahabedian wants a full-scale investigation (video) not only into what St. Pierre and his corner did at UFC 94 but also what the Penn camp believes is a pattern of behavior with St. Pierre over the years. St. Pierre's representatives Phil Nurse and Greg Jackson said they had never heard of pre-fight greasing techniques. Nahabedian answered a similar query by listing four different methods they've unearthed that could help a fighter gain some slickness once a fight starts. He went as far as suggesting in the future that fighters have to take an administered shower with a special kind of soap to remove any topical lotions that could result in slickness during the fight. He even said there should be pre-fight and post-fight swabbing of the skin.
