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Accusation by Nogueira trainer: Sylvia used skin creme
By Zach Arnold | February 7, 2008
On Tatame’s site in Portuguese (not in English), Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira trainer Luiz Alves made the claim that Tim Sylvia used some sort of skin lotion or creme.
This is the same kind of allegation that got Yoshihiro Akiyama (famously) in hot water when he fought Kazushi Sakuraba on NYE in 2006.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 32 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Wasn’t one of the Klitschko brothers (pretty sure it was Wladimir) get accused of doing something similar? I think it was Vaseline though (I’m pretty sure it was Sam Peter who made the accusation. Please correct me if I am worng). I also remember Hector Camacho Jr. getting some heat because glitter from his trunks would get on his gloves and then impair the opponent’s vision. But is there anything illegal about using any sort of petroleum jelly and lotion? I remember reading some rules of PRIDE’s from their official website (I think) and it said that any heair products (Mousse, Hair gell, palmade, etc.) are prohibited from use. So will UFC (or even any state athletic commissions) ban lotions?
I’m sure the Japanese are impressed by these kind of whiny complaints.
I’m not.
Nogueira won, right? When did winners whine?
Wouldn’t be incredibly surprised considering his usage of the oversized knee sleeves to try to get traction for submissions.
Yeah, this would be a hell of a lot more pertinent if Nog lost, or at least couldn’t get him in a slick looking choke like he did.
Maybe Sylvia just sweats a lot? I mean, I can picture that, the dude can’t even control his bowels sometimes.
jl: Rampage’s trainer (Ibarra) began his slew of allegations and complaints shortly after Jackson began winning UFC fights. Trainers get weird when their fighters begin winning again…
Big Tim has soft, smooth skin. Cut him some slack (no pun intended)…
Dave: LOL
But seriously, the fact that Nog won, and is still making this claim, gives his story more weight.
After winning the belt, what motivation does he have to make up a story like that?
I remember the Sakuraba fight, where he’s literally screaming at the referee about not being able to grip Akiyama while he’s being hammered in the face.
If Sylvia was greasing, he was breaking the rules, it doesn’t really matter if he won or lost in that case.
Of course, to complain weeks after the event doesn’t do anyone any good and I doubt that there is any way to prove this one way or another.
Accusations of greasing in high profile wrestling/combat sports go back at least to 1908, so it’s likely not the last time we’ll hear a complaint like this.
Now that I think about it, this match was almost the 100 year anniversary of Gotch/Hackenschmidt….
I bet guys Greasing is going to be the next big MMA issue, hopefully the athletic commissions start levvying large fines for it. Neither juicing nor greasing will be allowed.
I can picture Sean Sherk getting caught greasing and claiming he just took a shower, he didn’t notice the grease coming out of the showerhead (or his trainers hands), so its not his fault.
Ahhh, don’t they smother the fighter’s faces with Vaseline before then enter the ring and in between rounds?
No chance of that stuff getting spread to the neck, chest and hands with sweat and contact?
Give me a fucking break.
I have a hard time imagining the vaseline from Tim’s face being thick enough to spread over his entire 6’8″ body.
The Brazilians sure use a lot of excuses. If Nogueira felt that Tim was slippery, he should’ve voiced his concern during the fight or immediately after.
You don’t have your trainer voice it to a reporter of all people a week after the fact.
Nogueira is an honorable guy. I suspect his trainer is making up stories to downplay Sylvia’s great sprawl. If you lose, you don’t make excuses. And if you win, you also don’t make excuses for your perceived bad performance. A win is a win. Don’t be an Arona.
“The Brazilians sure use a lot of excuses.”
I’ve been following MMA since UFC 1 – both in Japan and America – and if someone is making an excuse, 9 times out of 10 they’re Brazilian. I have no idea why that is.
Brazilians are to excuses in MMA as Italians are to grass-diving in soccer. they just go together.
For my all-time favorite Brazilian excuse, see Frank Shamrock’s inner thigh graze the back of Renzo Gracie’s neck, and him putting on a silly performance like a 6-year-old trying to get out of gym class, and earning a DQ win. I LOL every time I see that footage.
I hope everyone ignores this idiot trainer.
Going by the sour puss look on Dana’s face as he put the belt around Nog’s waist after the win, I don’t think anything good can come from accusations like this.
If the Zuffa is good at one thing, it’s holding a grudge.
From MMAjunkie.com.
Boetsch, though, did indicate he got additional pay on top of his normal salary, confirming the UFC “takes care of you if you put on an exciting fight.“
More evidence that the UFC does take care of their fighters. Jardine obviously did not receive 16k for his fight with Chuck. Where is Jardine anyway? Answer: Probably Europe, Caribbean, Asian on vacation.
I think Dana White is an idiot as well, but I respect him as a business man (okay, Pride purchase notwithstanding). By comparing the official UFC pay to the other organizations, it’s not even a comparison.
Furthermore, since there is nothing official in Japan, any payment reports over there should be taken with a grain of salt. Those Japanese are a sneaky bunch. Just ask Dana.
Back to my post. I said it was Sam Peter who made the accusations. It wasn’t Peter, it was Chris Byrd years ago. Allegedly some Vaseline got on Wladimir’s gloves and since Byrd did get punched in the face it (I guess) affected his vision.
“More evidence that the UFC does take care of their fighters. Jardine obviously did not receive 16k for his fight with Chuck. Where is Jardine anyway? Answer: Probably Europe, Caribbean, Asian on vacation.”
I just wish they would be a lot more transparent about fighter pay. I assume it’s got a lot to do with bargaining power when contracts are up, b/c they pay all these off the books “shower bonuses” no one really has a clue what anyone else is making.
After the 1st Lamon Brewster fight Wlad accused his trainer of rubbing down his legs with vaseline which suffocated his skin and caused him to get tired.
Wlad fired that trainer and hasn’t lost since.
I’m a little floored about “Timm-eh!” openly talking about his displeasure with being paid less than Lesnar and the possibility of jetting to M-1.
Maybe this is just some pre-negotiation posturing, but he’s always seemed like a company man.
He’s miffed that Lesnar is paid twice as much as he did with evidently less skills. However, I expect that as a ploy. He will likely resign with the UFC.
Sylvia doesn’t have the charisma of Arlovski, the popularity of Couture, nor the marketability of Ortiz. Then again, his manager is Monte Cox who also runs M-1 so anything could happen.
M-1 actually signing fighters? GTFO! I’m still waiting on the ‘roster of fighters’ that they were going to reveal at the end of October.
Turst me. There’s no use regulating the use of lotion or lub because slimy skin can be naturally achieved by certain diet and/or dermatologic experiment.
Akiyama was punished because he allowed a filming. Without visual evidence, you can easily get away from this type of cheating.
Yeah I really don’t see Sylvia being able to get the money he’s looking for outside of the UFC, he’s probably one of the few guys that would actually get more by staying.
As cyphron said, he’s just not a “sexy” free agent for any of those org’s. As much as he would certainly add credibility I really doubt he’d add much to the buyrates. But I guess we’ll see how much Cox’s involvement with M-1 effects the negotiations.
I like how both Brazilians and Japanese are made into stereotypes over a debacle about Sylvia.
Why is this so unbelievable to some of you? Sylvia’s failed a roids test before and when has Nog ever made a complaint of this sort? Tim cheated before and got caught it wouldn’t shock me if he got caught again.
Big Tim vs. Fedor in M-1?
Then we can see how much of a ‘joke’ Fedor is when he submits Sylvia faster than he armbarred Choi.
“After the 1st Lamon Brewster fight Wlad accused his trainer of rubbing down his legs with vaseline which suffocated his skin and caused him to get tired.
Wlad fired that trainer and hasn’t lost since.”
Yeah, I rmemeber all of that. It was weird because Wlad was dominating the fight, then at the end of the fifth round Wlad starting gasping heavily and Brewster knocked him out. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the same trianer who got vaseline on Wlad’s gloves when Wlad went against Chris Byrd the first time.
What is wrong with you guys?
“I like how both Brazilians and Japanese are made into stereotypes over a debacle about Sylvia.” – Thank you Jeff
It is only an accusation if the fighter loses. Noguiera won, he is just letting people know what he feels, and he didn’t even say ish!, his trainer brought it up. You guys need to relax! lol
“It is only an accusation if the fighter loses. Noguiera won, he is just letting people know what he feels, and he didn’t even say ish!, his trainer brought it up. You guys need to relax! lol”
Exactly! Who makes excuses for winning?
Typical BTT BS. There is always some excuse out of their camp for victories or defeats. Nog claimed injury in his defeat of Barnett too.
Nogueira is trying to make himself look better in victory – I’m not buying it.
Why not? Syliva’s been caught cheating in the past. He has a track record of being a cheater and excuse maker. Nog’s making an excuse for winning now? It’s ok to admit the winner is Brazilian it’ll only hurt to say it once.
And Barnett pissed hot too.