The Nevada State Athletic Commission meets today to review the charges against Georges St Pierre, his cornerman Phil Nurse and trainer Greg Jackson. It doesn't look like B.J. Penn is going to get what he's after according to NSAC boss Keith Kizer. Sherdog reports:

Kizer said it his interpretation that Nevada statutes currently don’t support the commission having the jurisdiction to adjust the results of the bout to a “no contest” given the specific circumstances. Kizer said a bout can only be ruled a “no contest” on four different occasions: the scorecards were added incorrectly, collusion occurred (where a referee was paid off), the referee misinterpreted a rule that effected the outcome, or there was the use of non-approved drugs or steroids.

“The main thing here [for Tuesday’s hearing] is let’s see what happened in the fight and let’s find out what happened from Phil [Nurse] and Greg [Jackson], what happened and why it happened, “ said Kizer. “Secondly, let’s figure out a way to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Now whether it goes beyond that is up to the commissioners -- and it may or may not.”

Kizer’s expectations are a bit tamer though.

“What I see happening is something along these lines: a very strict warning to Phil, a warning to everybody that there’s no place for this, and maybe something [determined] along the lines that every corner can have one designated Vaseline guy and that guy can not touch the fighter anywhere else on his body, except for his face, until the end of the fight,” said Kizer.

MMA Weekly has the story:

B.J. Penn and his representatives have filed a formal complaint against Georges St. Pierre.

The 20-page document, filed on Monday with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, requests sanctions against St. Pierre, his cornermen, and other unknown licensees of the commission, and requests a formal hearing into the matter.

The complaint, drafted by Penn legal representative Raffi A. Nahabedian, of the Rosenfeld law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada, alleges that St. Pierre and his camp knowingly used illegal greasing agents to affect the outcome of his fight with Penn at UFC 94 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas.

...
The document cites unnamed mixed martial arts fighters who complained about St. Pierre’s use of greasing agents as evidence of his culpability.

“It is Penn’s belief… that the aforementioned strategies were intentional and were orchestrated by Pierre as a means to unfairly and illegally defeat Penn in a regulated and sanctioned championship bout that prohibits the aforementioned conduct and that such calculated actions by Pierre were implemented as a means to prevent Penn from defending himself in a manner consistent with that contemplated in unarmed combat due to the highly and unnaturally slippery nature of Pierre during the bout,” the document states.

Penn and his representative also allege that St. Pierre “ingested a substance that would cause his body to become highly and unnaturally slippery during the bout.”

MMA Mania has details on the sanctions that Penn is seeking:

• A fine of $250,000
• Suspension of St. Pierre’s license as well as the licenses of Jackson and Nurse
• Change the result of the bout to a “no contest”
• Require St. Pierre undergo a pre-bout shower to make sure no substances exist on his body

For my own part, I have been publicly sympathetic to B.J.'s side of the case and I'm glad the matter will get a formal hearing.

The sanctions B.J. is seeking are a bit much but I think a fuller investigation of the matter is warranted. The obvious vaseline smearing that Nurse was caught blatantly doing was less serious than the baths in baby oil and other methods of greasing before fights that have been rumored to occur so I'm hoping that the hearing will shed some light on those practices although I've yet to hear of any actual evidence that GSP or anyone in the Jackson camp has engaged in that sort of tactic.

As much as I believe this case merits investigation, I still hate to see a fighter I admire as much as GSP and a camp as good as Greg Jackson's having to face charges this serious. At least the fight did not take place in California or Florida where the commissions would be guaranteed to botch the hearing.

Dave Meltzer has buyrate updates on the UFC and Affliction in his latest newsletter(subscription only--it's worth it.)  First, UFC 94:

The trending information and some early information from a variety of sources gives an inconclusive picture nailing down how UFC 94 did, but it appears to have fallen short of early predictions regarding blowing away all previous company marks.

Based on the early trending data, it overall looks to be just over 1 million buys, with the major boost coming from Canada, where it was a record setter.

There are other reports from those with actual knowledge of PPV numbers themselves who have said at this point the confirmed number of buys was closer to 800,000, which, if true, would be a disappointment by today’s standards.

He also has an update on Affliction numbers:

For what it’s worth, Richard Schafer of Golden Boy claimed 150,000 to 200,000 buys for Day of Reckoning. Tom Atencio only said they were up 50% from the first show, which, depending on what the first show did (estimates ranging from 90,000 to 115,000), could be anywhere from 135,000 to 175,000. Independent sources continue to have the number at between 80,000 and 120,000, with most saying 100,000. It’s still too early to get what I’d consider a reliable number, but several trending patterns are in and they indicate a slight decline from the first show. 

Overall, it's still too early to tell on both, but it looks like both places had some relatively disappointing news.  Still, it's only disappointing compared to what they put out there.  A number between 800,000 and 1 million for GSP and BJ Penn is still tremendous, and anything over 100k for a promotion without television is very good.

Once again, Fighters Only magazine has the scoop:

“[When] there is a failed drug test, the commission at its discretion could overturn a victory or draw and make it a no contest. We have actually done that a few times, that is the most common of the four [grounds for overturning the decision].”

Parisyan will appear in front of the commission next Tuesday to explain why he had threee different opiate sin his system at the time of the UFC 94 fight.
...
However, Kizer says that even if the drugs do turn out to have been prescribed, it is unlikely to mitigate the length of ban that Parisyan is likely to be handed.

My greatest fear is that the suspension will do little to Karo except further exacerbate his existing problems. In truth, though, the length of the suspension is hardly the crux of the matter; whether Karo is legitimately committed to changing his life seems far more the salient issue.

Fighters Only Magazine has an interesting tidbit:

Speaking to Fighters Only earlier, Dr. Chris Lam (pictured) explained that the three drugs - Hydrocodone, Oxymorphone, and Hydromorphone - are all opiates, which are “probably the most powerful pain killer which are routinely used in medicine, normally being reserved for severe pain such as cancer pain”.

“In the UK at least, it would be very unusual for a doctor to prescribe opiates of the sort found in his test for muscular injuries such as hamstring injuries,” he said, referring to Parisyan’s claim that he took the drugs because of hamstring pain.

“It is also unusual to be given a cocktail of opiates as was found in his urine sample.”

...

“One of the main concerns with prescribing opiates is that they potentially can be addictive and habit forming especially if prescribed inappropriately,” he said.

Dr Lam is a British physician who is used by both the British Board of Boxing Control and the UFC as a ringside doctor for events in the UK and Ireland, where he has tended to the likes of Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filopovic, Mark Coleman and Matt Hughes.

There are three issues to unpack here. First, while not out of the question that one person could be prescribed all three of those painkillers simultaneously (or be allowed to take all three simultaneously), how likely is it that Karo actually has all three prescribed to him by medical professionals who understand precisely what Karo was ingesting? One can only hope there's no doctor shopping going on here.

Second, are the injuries Karo has so severe that he needs one - much less three - prescribed painkillers to cope with the pain?

Third, even if Karo has been prescribed these drugs by licensed medical doctors who are aware of everything he was ingesting, what athletic commission would approve such a fighter to be competing in high-level professional MMA bouts given those conditions? Karo may claim he has prescriptions for all three drugs and perhaps he does, but that in no way absolves him of the fact that taking those drugs only masks serious underlying health issues the commission would be forced to look into.

I'm sure there is a diversity of opinion on this matter, but the more I learn about the situation and the more Karo tries to explain himself, the more concerned I become.

MMAWeekly has more info on the Karo Parisyan situation. Apparently he disclosed his use of painkillers to NSAC inspectors AFTER  the fight but failed to disclose on the pre-fight forms:

A distraught Parisyan told MMAWeekly.com, "I told (the commission) ‘listen, by the way, if pain pills come positive, I have prescription, I told you.' They said, ‘no problem, as long as you have a prescription for it, and it's like a pain pill, it's not a big deal.'

Kizer received a copy of the prescription the following week, but disputes Parisyan's recollection of the post-fight conversation.

"I mean, I wasn't back there, but that's nothing we'd say," said Kizer.
...
"It's up for the commission to decide," said Kizer. "I don't think so, but it's up for the commission to decide. You can't wait till after the fight, when they're about to urinate in the cup, and say ‘oh, by the way, I took a prohibited substance yesterday.' That's what it sounds like happened here, but we'll give him his chance to explain to the full commission."

Karo's explanations so far don't inspire much confidence in his chances with the commission:

"I did not even think about any of that stuff," he said. "I was just thinking about my fight, and my anxiety and how I'm going to walk in the cage. I had so many problems in my head. I didn't even think I should write - I was just doing it fast, fast, fast, just to get out there and weigh in and fight. I completely forgot about all this stuff.

"When he asked me after the fight, my mind was calm, my body was calm, and I was thinking about the urine test. They say I didn't say it before, and I know that's my mistake. They can't hold that against me. I didn't kill anybody. I even told the main guy. He said, ‘Karo, as long as you didn't take anabolic drugs, or cocaine, or any of that crazy stuff, you should be fine as long as you've got the prescription.'"

Parisyan also talked about his training plans for his possible match against Josh Koscheck at UFC 98:

"They better not do anything to screw that up," said Parisyan. "I'm gonna go beyond training for this fight. The deal is, I couldn't travel because of my anxiety. I would go crazy in hotel rooms and et cetera, so all kinds of reasons. But now, thank God, I'm fine. I can travel and I can train. And that's what I'm shooting for, I want to travel and train with St. Pierre and my original camp, with Greg Jackson, and I'll be in the best shape of my life. I guarantee that. I'm not (expletive) around no more. Everything that I was (expletive) around with, no more."

I've never made a secret of being a big Karo fan. I'm a sucker for the flashy judo throws and his epic bouts with Diego Sanchez, Nick Diaz and Georges St. Pierre, not to mention his demolition of Nick Thompson are the kinds of performances I will long remember. But it does seem that our boy has gotten himself into more than a bit of a fix.

Its also frustrating to see Karo's difficulty in grasping the situation he's in. His line "They better not do anything to screw that up" referring to the commission and his possible bout with Josh Koschek is telling -- Karo is still blaming other people for his problems and talking about how he's going to train really really hard NEXT time.

Hopefully Karo will get a fair hearing, get the time to heal his injuries and get his head together. I also hope the UFC will stand by him through any suspension that may be handed down.

Even though his last couple of fights have been disappointing, I'm not ready to give up on Karo. He's young. He's talented. He's skilled. He's a very game and fearless fighter.

I look forward to seeing him fight again after he's resolved his problems with the NSAC. Hopefully he'll make some headway with his bigger and more intractable opponent -- himself.

I usually don’t do this, but I will this time. When I talk about a topic one week, it usually doesn’t get brought up again. I think a lot of people need to go back and reread last week’s blog, including GSP. At no point did I accuse Georges of putting grease on himself. All I said was that he felt slick. I’ve wrestled over a thousand matches, fought 50 opponents, all I’ve ever done in life is wrestle and compete with other people. With all that experience, do you think I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between sweat and something else?

Last week when I got to Florida, I was in the elevator with Robbie, I said "Robbie did you hear about GSP?" He said, "No, I don’t know what you’re talking about." I then said that BJ accused him of being slippery, Robbie looked right up at me and said, "That’s what you said after Anaheim." Also, I’ve had several people close to me around my town who have come up to me and said the same thing.

I’ve nothing against GSP, I even think he’s somewhat a likable guy. Some people are trying to say that I’m making this personal and that’s just not true at all. The reason I didn’t bring this up before was because I didn’t know there was anything to him being slick. With all the other guys coming out and saying the same thing, I just wanted to be true to myself, and to everybody else, and say that there could be some validity there.

MMAMania has the scoop:

Former number one welterweight contender, Karo Parisyan, has tested positive for several painkillers, including Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone and Oxymorphone, following his controversial split decision win over Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 31.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today passed along the results to MMAmania.com.

“The Heat” has been battling a nervous disorder, as well as injuries, which forced him out of a match against Yoshiyuki Yoshida less than 24 hours before showtime back in September 2008.

According to MMAMania, no other fighters tested from this card popped positive for any illegal or banned substances.

I talked with Mania before posting this and it is our understanding that a fighter cannot be taking painkillers prior to a fight to mitigate the ill effects of an injury or rigorous training. And even if Parisyan were to have disclosed this information prior to the bout, that candor would only have made his inability to fight official.

For longtime fans of Parisyan, his trajectory has been a very bitter pill to swallow. His quadricep injury prior to his title shot with Hughes was forgivable, but Parisyan has never seemed to rebound from the setback. By both design and accident, Parisyan is continually taking actions that jeopardize his career. What happens next is up to the UFC, the NSAC and Parisyan himself. I certainly hope he is able to get the help is so desperately needs.

Gotta make this quick because I feel ill.  Couldn't get all the way through, though there's not much left.  Video to be posted whenever I feel better.  I fought hard in the early rounds, but the syrup overwhelmed me with its thickness.  Jemima by TKO, round four.

Video here.