Grease

Over the past few days the webs, mostly Fightlinker, has been over run with the debate over GSp and the alleged Vaseline rubdown. I will admit right off the bat that I was rooting for BJ Penn but still like GSP as much as the next guy. I will say that GSP beat the shit out of BJ. But greasing up against a BJJ champion like Penn is like making Michael Phelps swim in Jello... it hinders his main attack. All through the fight I was thinking "BJ really is having trouble keeping his legs on GSP's back!" I didn't think he was covered in grease but maybe just sweaty in combination with BJ being out of shape. Both are obviously true after the 2nd round... which strangely is when the NSAC noticed that one of GSP's corner men had been rubbing extra Vaseline normally used to coat a fighters face during cuts and to prevent cuts all over his back and neck. Now BJ's main attack besides striking is his monkey legs. But if GSP had been extra slippery this would be completely circumvented.
I think GSP is guilty of being greased up and may have been greased in tha past since a few fighters have acknowledged the fact that he was extra slippery when they fought. I'm not saying GSP had knowledge of this or would have approved of this, he seems to me to be good guy who takes this sport seriously. But I also think BJ takes this seriously, maybe not training but the actual combat and/or competition. That said GSP and his corner should at the very least be investigated and maybe docked some money. The NSAC should step up its observations and make sure the guys in the octagon should know about the possibility of this. And finally the rules pertaining to this should be made easier to read and enforce.

205 belt

I predict Machida will be the champ by the end of the year if he does in fact fight for the belt. I say if he does since he's been a contender for a while now but until this fight no one really seriously thought of him as a candidate for the title shot since his fights are not usually exciting to the casual fan. I like his style in the same way a BJJ guy might like to watch Aoki or a wrestler might appreciate GSP. It's down to a matter to taste... Machida might back pedal but he still beats his opponent and can be, at least for me and a few others highly entertaining to watch. I can see how people might find his style boring since its not a Griffin vs Bonnar style slugfest. He gets the job done and in a ballet-esc fashion.