Ed Soares on the bad press surrounding Anderson Silva’s performance at UFC 97 against Thales Leites and the accusations that Silva greased himself prior to the fight:
“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Soares. “We didn’t put any Vaseline on. Let’s face it. How much Vaseline can come off the eyebrows that’s going to make a difference?”
According to Soares, greasing was a non-factor.
“Where else is he going to rub it? On his shorts?” he asked. “Even if he had a bunch of Vaseline on him… In this fight, it wouldn’t have made a difference.”
It doesn’t really matter how much vaseline can come off your face: the fact is, Anderson Silva took vaseline off his face and made a concerted effort to wipe it on his arms and his torso. And yes, Ed, if Anderson absolutely had to remove the vaseline from his face, it would have been a much better option to either wipe it on his shorts or have someone from the athletic commission remove the excess vaseline with a towel.
By doing so, Silva would have been blameless. As it stands, though, it appears that Silva made a concerted effort to cheat. That may not be the case, but it certainly appears that way, and that’s unfortunate.
