Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has issued a response to the accusations of illegal "greasing" brought by the BJ Penn camp, releasing a statement that any accusations of cheating "would diminish the significance of what was perhaps the biggest fight in MMA history." St. Pierre attributed the results of the match to "disciplined preparation" and "skillful execution" and also offered to fight Penn again.

St. Pierre released his statement through his manager Shari Spencer.

St. Pierre (18-2) defeated BJ Penn via fourth-round TKO in a UFC welterweight championship match on Jan. 31. Afterward, Penn's corner said they would file a protest after St. Pierre was toweled down by athletic commission members, who witnessed cornerman Phil Nurse applying Vaseline to St. Pierre's body. Cameras caught the action as well.

Penn stopped short of filing an official complaint but through his lawyer, he did send a formal request to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, asking them to investigate St. Pierre and the actions of his cornermen.

St. Pierre responded with the following statement: "I have never cheated in my life, and as my fans know, I am deeply committed to upholding the integrity of the sport. My entire camp and I have been completely open about what happened during my fight at UFC 94 - we have nothing to hide. One of my cornermen did use an energy technique to help with my breathing that involves rubbing my back. He's also done this in previous fights. If there was any Vaseline left on his hand after he put it on my face, it was unintentional, and I do not believe it made the slightest difference in the outcome of the fight. Of course it's up to the UFC, but I would be happy to offer BJ a second rematch. I am confident the outcome would be the same."

St. Pierre is currently on vacation and is next expected to face No. 1 contender Thiago Alves, though he may be called in front of the Nevada state athletic commission to explain his actions along with his cornermen Greg Jackson and Phil Nurse.

Athletic commission executive director Keith Kizer previously told NBCSports.com that Jackson and Nurse could face fines or suspensions.

Nevada athletic commission rules do not explicitly forbid greasing the body, but Kizer said fighters are verbally told by both the commission and the promoter it is not allowed.

On his website, Penn said he would accept a third match with St. Pierre, writing, "For the past several days I have been reading statements made by St. Pierre and Greg Jackson about our fight on January 31. St. Pierre claims that he is not a cheater” and that he and Greg Jackson will have no problem with a rematch in the summer of 2009... I hereby accept Georges St. Pierre and Greg Jackson’s challenge for a fight in the summer 2009. Lets call Dana now and set it up."