On behalf of Georges & his camp: George St-Pierre's successful welterweight title defense at UFC 94 was the direct result of his disciplined preparation and skillful execution of a masterful gameplan. Any implication to the contrary would diminish the significance of what was perhaps the biggest fight in MMA history.
St-Pierre states: "I have never cheated in my life, and as my fans know, I am deeply committed to upholding the integrity of the sport. My entire camp and I have been completely open about what happened during my fight at UFC 94 – we have nothing to hide. One of my cornermen did use an energy technique to help with my breathing that involves rubbing my back. He's also done this in my previous fights. If there was any Vaseline left on his hand after he put it on my face, it was unintentional, and I do not believe it made the slightest difference in the outcome of the fight. Of course it's up to the UFC, but I would be happy to offer BJ a second rematch. I am confident the outcome will be the same."
Team GSP is currently enjoying our victory celebration and we will soon turn our attention and focus toward Georges' next competitor – Thiago Alves
Micheal Rome gives his take on a re-match:
However, there are significant negatives to doing a rematch as well. The first fight was a brutal ass kicking, and Penn is putting his body in jeopardy fighting St. Pierre again. Further, it's even more unfair to challengers for each title to have to wait again for this. We also know that if BJ wins he wants to retire, giving the UFC every incentive in the world not to give him this fight. Finally, and probably most importantly, the grease story is confined to a small world of hardcore fans. Most casuals will never know or care about it. However, hyping a fight around it will permanently raise the issue about St. Pierre, something the UFC marketing machine is certainly not interested in.
My position is this: if BJ Penn wants a rematch, he needs to drop his title, move to 170, and earn a title shot. Maybe if he can beat Jon Fitch and Matt Hughes he can earn himself a shot. As is, he cannot put himself above the entire roster especially after getting handled so badly. St. Pierre is probably fighting in July, if BJ wants it so bad he has plenty of time to earn his shot.
Rome makes solid points, especially the image of GSP angle. Personally, I wouldn't pay to see the re-match, nor do I think GSP whipping BJ again would stop the grease story from linking the two for forever. He has not one loss, but two losses to GSP in his career. I think BJ Penn needs to fight at 155 for the duration of his career or simply retire. No fighter is bigger than the sport, and he can't justify putting his ego ahead of all the hardwork that fighters like Kenny Florian and Thiago Alves have put in. It's time to let it go BJ, like a guy balding in his twenties....
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