I went over to my friends', Rob and Kathleen's, place to watch UFC 129 last night with a few other people. It was held at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It was the first major MMA fight to happen in Ontario which just recently sanctioned the events.
The headliners were Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields for the welterweight championship (170 lbs) and Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick for the featherweight championship (145 lbs). Also on the main card was a light-heavyweight (205 lbs) tilt between Randy "The Natural" Couture and Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida in what was to be Hall of Famer, Couture's, last fight.
The Couture/Machida card ended in spectacular fashion with Machida landing a front kick to Couture's face knocking him out cold at 1:05 of the second round. Machida was his usual elusive self for the first round of the fight easily avoiding any of the 47-year-old, Couture's, strikes.
The co-main event saw Canadian Mark Hominick take on Brazilian Featherweight champ Jose Aldo for the belt. Jose Aldo is known for his devastating leg kicks and quick, precision striking. He came in as a heavy favorite and during the fight showed everyone why.
Aldo dominated much of the fight only losing the final round to his game, but overmatched opponent. Afterwards H0minick showed the effects of receiving a severe beatdown at his hands. One fellow beside me remarked that Hominick's face looked similar to one of the grotesque creatures from the horror movie The Hills Have Eyes.
The match between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields was much more even. Some people even saw Shields as the favorite. He's had a longer win streak, but I don't believe has fought opponents of the same calibre as St. Pierre.
Shields greatest strength was supposed to be his jiu-jitsu. St. Pierre negated it by keeping the fight standing shrugging off any of Shield's take down attempts. With an array of punches and kicks, St. Pierre knocked his opponent down a number of times, but could not finish. This has been his greatest criticism.
He did have what I would say is a legitimate excuse though. Part way through the second round Shields landed what seemed to be a inconsequential punch to St. Pierre's left eye. Immediately after the round St. Pierre complained he couldn't see out of it any longer. I'm sure it hampered his performance for the rest of the fight.
In the end Georges St. Pierre won a unanimous decision in the eyes of the judges. Though he didn't dominate, Shields didn't do anything remotely threatening either.
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