Georges "Rush" St-Pierre's dominant victory over BJ Penn at UFC 94 should have validated the French Canadian as one of the top fighters in the spot. Instead, "Vasoline-gate" has formulated questions rather than answers. To be clear, I believe nobody should cheat in MMA that includes: greasing up, coming in overweight or taking steroids. With that said, I'm somewhat surprised about how many people suggest this incident ultimately affected the fight, question GSP's character, and want to see a BJ Penn/GSP III bout. To review the evidence here clearly St-Pierres muay thai coach Phil Nurse, is rubbing his back and performing some voodoo, body energy routine. This is typical, crazy GSP, if you heard his post fight interview on MMA Live, he breaks down BJ Penn into a science, odd yes I know. From what the eye can see, Nurse is flirting with illegal activity as Vaseline on his hand does touch the shoulders/back of St-Pierre. Would his coaches intently do this? When cameras and people in the stands can visibly see the corner, why would they try and pull a fast one? I think the bigger question here, is when will the general MMA community cut St-Pierre some slack and give the man some credit?

You would think a fighter who carries himself in a professional manner, always makes exciting fights, and performs at a high level that would garner the respect of his peers/fans. I go back a few years when St-Pierre faced Matt Hughes for the second time at UFC 65. Hughes, being the typical arrogant, fighter kept referring to the "mental game" that he was in GSP's head, and that he would dominate the French Canadian. St-Pierre displayed a flawless performance, stopping Hughes in the 2nd round, and won the welterweight title at the age of 25. He didn't talk any trash; in fact he apologized to Hughes after the fight for pre-fight talk he felt was out of line. You could say he is the typical polite Canadian. The title reign wouldn't last long, as Matt Serra would shock the world disposing of the champ in the 1st round. Unfortunately controversy would also hit GSP, as he went on a Toronto radio station after the fight claiming he was injured, which didn't sit well with Serra. It was a young mans mistake, and rather than seeing that, Serra lashed out at St-Pierres heritage, making this battle personal. Meanwhile Matt Hughes dodged welterweight contenders Diego Sanchez and Karo Parysian, instead opting to fight journeyman Chris Lytle. The result was a razor thin decision against the easier Lytle. St-Pierre manned up and took out welterweight contender Josh Koscheck, beating him at his own craft of wrestling.

When Hughes and St Pierre met for a third time, the result was the same. It was a display of crossroads, as Hughes seemed on the downfall, and St Pierre seemed destined once again for glory. He continued this success, winning back his welterweight title from Matt Serra at UFC 83 in his hometown of Montreal. Then in his toughest test at UFC 87, St-Pierre battled Jon Fitch, who was on an 8-fight win streak (or 15 if you count his fights outside the UFC). He dominated the former Purdue wrestler, in 5 grueling rounds. While many saw St-Pierre's first title defense as validation among his peers, Matt Hughes thought the fight was "boring" and many still criticized GSP for not finishing the fight. Meanwhile BJ Penn had just dominated the king of the 155lb division in Sean Sherk, and called St-Pierre out. 

GSP manned up once again, accepting a challenge against lightweight champ BJ Penn for his welterweight title. As many will note, their first fight back at UFC 58 was highly controversial, St Pierre earning the close split decision. This fight would silence all the critics, and prove who the better fighter was. Keep in mind, Penn was 1-2 at UFC welterweight action, and would still keep his lightweight title regardless. St-Pierre only had respect to gain, and everything else to lose. In the weeks building up to the fight, Penn talked a lot of trash, saying he was going to "fight to the death" and called St-Pierre a quitter for losing to Matt Serra. Many analysts picked Penn as the favorite, saying his striking would outpoint St-Pierre. While many argued this would be a fight of the century between two fighters in the prime of their careers, it appeared one fighter actually showed up for battle. St-Pierre dominated Penn in all aspects of the fight; forcing Penn's corner to call it quits at the end of the 4th round. It seemed like finally people would distinguish St-Pierre as one of the best, but apparently not.

We fast-forward to now, where fighters are lashing out calling GSP a cheater. Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Sean Sherk and Jason Mayhem Miller are just a few saying that St-Pierre "greased" when he fought them. Sounds more like a case of sore losers. St-Pierre went on Sherdog radio this past week defending himself, and welcomed a third fight, to where BJ Penn's camp responded with an ecstatic "yes". Now lets be honest, St-Pierre was just being polite, I don't think anyone (including the UFC) wants to see these two go at it again. Should this fight happen, Penn would essentially be rewarded for a lousy performance. Had this fight been close and controversial, perhaps this would give credence to a third affair. But plain and simple, this fight was one sided. BJ Penn should stay at the division he clearly dominates, 155lbs. The UFC has already taken measures to ensure this type of situation never happens again. Unfortunately for St-Pierre, people will still criticize and tarnish his legacy as a fighter.