Georges St. Pierre's dancecard is full for at least the next year.
But the UFC welterweight champ is willing to put his fight against Thiago Alves and a potential weight-class jump to face Anderson Silva on hold if it means clearing his name with a rematch against B.J. Penn.
The 27-year-old Montrealer had his lopsided four-round title defence over Penn tarnished when allegations arose that his cornermen had "greased" him between rounds.
Speaking to Sherdog Radio Network's Beatdown, St. Pierre explained his cornerman, Phil Nurse, was simply helping him with his breathing while he waited for the next bell.
"First of all, what happened is Phil, he put Vaseline in my face, but then after he didn't have the Vaseline," St. Pierre said.
"After he put Vaseline in my face, he didn't put Vaseline on my back. That's what people don't understand. He put one hand on my chest and he made a circle behind my back. It helps my breathing."
Since last week's fight, Penn's lawyer has sent a letter to the Nevada State Athletic Commission asking for an investigation into whether St. Pierre cheated.
"This illegal situation made it impossible for Mr. Penn to defend himself and unfairly exposed Mr. Penn to GSP's 'ground and pound' strategy which Mr. Penn extensively trained for and was fully prepared to perform against," wrote Penn's lawyer, Raffi A. Nahabedian, in a letter to the commission.
"More importantly, by neutralizing Mr. Penn's Brazilian jiu-jitsu abilities through the use of illegal and improper means, Mr. Penn was subjected to a life-threatening and career-ending environment: An environment that the Commission was formed to protect against."
Commission executive director Keith Kizer said he was told after the first round that one of GSP's cornermen had applied Vaseline to the fighter's face, then rubbed his back. Kizer went over to GSP's corner at end of the second round to ensure the fighter was dried off before commencing the third.
The letter from Penn's lawyer may spark an investigation, but Kizer said St. Pierre's camp will be given a chance to respond first.
St. Pierre told Beatdown he feels stung by the allegations.
"Listen, I never cheated in my life," said St. Pierre.
"I never said something bad to B.J. Penn. I never answered back to him with what he said. I've always been respectful. But now that he says something like that it bothers me a lot. He already said I was taking steroids, that I was a quitter, that he was blaming me for seeing a sports psychologist and now he says that I cheat because I use Vaseline."
If fighting Penn again is what's needed to clear the air, St. Pierre says he's ready.
"Lets go do a rematch with B.J. Penn," said St. Pierre. "We're going to do it this summer. I guarantee you the result will be the same or even worse for him."
