"I have no clue what's going on in my head right now. My mind changes from time to time. I was going to make this my last fight and finish off fighting GSP. In my head, I was with the company for nine or ten years. I kind of just wanted to be finished with this whole thing after this. I don’t know where my head is right now." -- Penn to KHON-TV in Hawaii in his first post-fight interview.
“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. 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.” -- Penn's lawyer, Raffi A. Nahabedian, in a letter to the Nevada State Athletic Commission requesting an investigation into the fight.
"I told them I was disappointed and that they may have tainted Mr. St. Pierre's victory. I told them if it happens again, it will probably be the last time they work a corner in Nevada. Basically, they said, 'Look, we're sorry. We're not trying to do anything. It was an accident.' Whether it was intentional or not, I don't know. It was improper." –- Nevada Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer to Sherdog.com.
“A winner’s mentality always tries to understand the reason why he lost. In B.J.’s case, he doesn’t do it in a good way. I understand that he tries to understand why he lost, but what he should’ve done instead of looking at things he doesn’t control he should’ve looked at himself in the mirror and asked himself what he should’ve done better to be more well-prepared for that fight to be able to beat Georges St. Pierre instead of looking at me and try to find excuses… B.J. right now is doing it all wrong and he’s not going to become a better fighter if he keeps acting like this.” –- Georges St. Pierre to Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” radio.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind fighting B.J. a third time if they're that concerned about it. I'm sure everybody would make a lot of money, and we'd certainly welcome that fight again." -- St. Pierre trainer Greg Jackson on Sherdog Radio Network’s "Savage Dog Show" show.
"He starts working on my knee —- and I swear to God to you guys I thought my knee was broken, it was that bad —- and within 15 minutes he had me jump off that table and my knee felt like I had never hurt it before… Everything I've ever had wrong with me, this guy has fixed." –- UFC President Dana White to The Canadian Press in 2006 on the unorthodox healing methods of Stephen Friend, whose so-called "witch doctor" techniques were being employed during the St. Pierre greasing incident.
“I'm not scared. You know what, Machida is tough. I gotta lot of respect for him, but I'm gonna win.” –- Rashad Evans to ESPN Radio 1110 on Lyoto Machida.
“Striking is probably the most dangerous and hardest to learn. For me, in wrestling -- and now in jiu-jitsu -- I learn by failing. I learn by getting taken down and getting pinned, getting choked, and it’s not a big deal. That’s a hard thing to do in striking because, hell, it hurts getting punched in the head. You can’t just go into the cage and say, ‘Hey, punch me in the head until I figure it out.’ I can’t really figure it out by failing.” –- 2008 Olympic wrestler Ben Askren to Sherdog.com, who makes his MMA debut on Saturday.
The Week Ahead
The UFC makes its debut in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 7 with a live UFC Fight Night card on Spike TV featuring Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens, Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer and Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnic. Plus, more clarity on the potentially game-changing implications of the Strikeforce’s Showtime and CBS deal, and the fighter contracts it has acquired from Pro Elite.