Yves Lavigne Wiped Down Anderson Silva at UFC 97
by Mike Fagan on Apr 22, 2009 2:49 AM EDT
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Josh Gross asserted that Anderson Silva spread the Vaseline applied to his face onto his body upon entering the cage at UFC 97. MMA media avoided GreaseGate II thanks to the controversy surrounding the performances of both Silva and Leites that night.
To clear up any potential story, Sherdog spoke to Yves Lavigne about the incident. Excerpt:
“I saw he had a little Vaseline on his chest and I wiped it from his chest and arms, as I saw him touching them as well,” Lavigne told Sherdog.com on Tuesday.
Lavigne said he then motioned to Leites’ corner and was given a “thumbs up” of approval.
“I took care of it, and the other corner felt OK with it,” said Lavigne.
Lavigne rightfully took a lot of abuse over his handling of the Brown-Sell fight at UFC 96. The above anecdote, however, shows why he's still regarded as one of the top referees in the sport.
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HALLELUJAH!!!
No greasegate redux nor any of the petty bickering around it. The ref saw it, the ref fixed it, it’s DONE!
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 22, 2009 3:06 AM EDT reply actions
Indeed, very good stuff.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 22, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm of two opposing thoughts on grease in MMA
1. What would be the impact if it was simply outlawed. Would cuts end fights constantly? It just seems like conflicting logic to use vasaline to protect from cuts from punches, but to allow the use of elbows.
2. What if, and this is actually the idea I like most, a fighter was given a small amount of vasaline per round to do with as they pleased? Have an official, each round, hand to the corner team 1oz (for argument’s sake) of vasaline and let them do whatever they want with it. Wipe it on your face to protect from a fight ending cut or rub it on your body to aid grappling, or a little of both. Regardless, make it such a small amount that the choice leaves some opening that an opponent can take advantage of.
What bothered me about the Silva situation was that the small amount of vasaline that he spread from his fact to his body was what would have naturally moved there in the event of some grappling during the fight. He didn’t really need to do it.
I thought the main reason for vaseline was to reduce leather burn more than anything.
by Dropkick434 on Apr 22, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Yves is redeemed
this makes up for his other lapse. Still one of the best in the business.
"It's like a flying knuckle sandwich." --Rogan
"And many men have eaten it." -- Goldy
Good job by Yves Lavigne. He is a very good ref.
However, wiping off grease in the GSP-Penn fight was repeatedly stated by many fans as insufficient (even though the rules state that this is the way to resolve these issues). I wonder if the same group will express similar outrage in this case.
Yeah, thats what I thought too. And whats worse in this case, is that it was Anderson himself rubbing it in…..intentionally. I dont think the original greasegate was as bit of a deal as it was made out to be, but its astounding how much media that got, yet this case, when the fighter himself is rubbing it onto his body, hardly gets a mention. Amazing.
that same group were bj fans, not lietes fans, so i highly doubt it. where’s dana’s rant and chuck running around like a wild man, the situation was no different.
Yup. Leites doesn’t have a fan base, so now in this case greasing isn’t an issue at all. Funny how that works, isn’t it.
by Hardcharger on Apr 22, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Absolutely
The hypocrisy is high on this one. Where’s Dual Diagnosis and Reaser with their 800 posts of “hes a cheater!”?
As bdw says, it’s always been more about who does the bitching than the offense itself. This just proves it.
Hey, you know what would be cool?
If Mike Goldberg could let us know little details like “referee Yves Lavigne is wiping down Anderson Silva with a towel, possibly to remove any excess Vaseline he might have on his body” instead of screaming like a maniac about how “electric” the “vibe” inside the Bell Centre is.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 22, 2009 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I’m starting to think the UFC just uses a soundboard for Goldie’s portion of the telecast.
http://www.sackmikegoldberg.com
Unrelated, but someone pointed out to me that Goldie and Rogan weren’t even sitting next to each other during Silva-Leites. Joe was sitting cageside with Eddie Bravo.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 22, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Well...
if you were getting all the creepy Goldie looks that Joe gets would you want to sit next to him?
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 22, 2009 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Hmm.
I’ll have to go back and watch the PPV again.
What’s more interesting is how you can make out Dana White walking over and crouching down next to Ed Soares in the 4th round of Silva-Leites.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 22, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions
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