Welterweight contender Gilbert Burns accused Jorge Masvidal of using ‘old tricks’ during their bout in the UFC 287 co-main event in Miami on Friday.
Burns claimed that Masvidal felt ‘slippery’ during and that he would have finished him had he not applied a lotion to make himself harder to take down, harder to submit, and harder to grab.
During the press conference after, Burns claimed that Masvidal was greasing. According to Burns he used a Miami trick with lotion to make himself slippery. Burns said he ‘100-percent believes’ that Masvidal applied a substance to his body, which was absorbed by his skin, making him difficult to grab and hold onto.
Burns claimed that Masvidal’s alleged greasing had an impact on the outcome of the fight. He insisted that he would have finished Masvidal had he not been so slippery on the ground. Burns dominated Masvidal on the floor, and he believes that a little less lotion would have made all the difference.
“That guy was fricken slippery,” said Burns. “It’s an old dog Miami trick with the lotion because he was so slippery. Wow.”
“I know those old tricks those guys do. They, you know what they do? They wake up and they take the first shower and they pass a lot of lotion on their body. The skin absorbs the lotion. After three hours you do it again,” said Burns.
“After you do it again, and then you do it again. Your body absorbs. And when you start sweating a lot, for sure he did that. 100-percent he did. I’m telling you. Not maybe. No. 100-percent he did. He was so slippery,” continued Burns. “I’ve got to give it to the guy. The guy has all the tricks.”
Masvidal has not yet responded to Burns’ allegations, but UFC President Dana White has already commented on the matter.
White said that the UFC has strict rules against greasing, and they take the issue very seriously. He also stated that the commission checked both before and that no wrongdoing was found.