UFC 129 Recap: Couture's retirement, Hominick's heart, Machida's kick and GSP's eye
Posted on May 1, 2011, 03:24 AM by Ryan VenturaThere hasn't been an MMA event in recent memory that has been anticipated as UFC 129. In a throw back to the glory days of PRIDE in Japan, it was the return of Mixed Martial Arts in a big stadium. It was also only the 3rd MMA event in the province of Ontario, with a record of 55,000 in attendance, the biggest in North American history.
To make this historic event even sweeter, the UFC booked an extremely stacked card filled with old time favorites and pound for pound greats. But what the people were really looking forward to see was the main event between Welterweight king Georges St. Pierre defend his crown against former Strikeforce Middleweight champ Jake Shields.
The energy in the Rogers Centre was felt by the millions watching worldwide in anticipation for the main event and the card was filled with already very memorable moments. Unfortunately for those people out there looking for a climactic finish to near perfect Pay-Per-View, you won't find that in the main event of GSP vs. Shields.
From the first round to the end, St. Pierre outclassed Jake Shields in the striking department and stuffed every single takedown attempt. However, this wasn't GSP's finest showing. Sometime in the second round Jake Shields hit St. Pierre with a right cross that affected Georges' vision in his left eye. Georges didn't look good technically as he had in previous bouts. He was telegraphing an overhand right through out the fight and utilized a spinning back kick that did connect a few times but was being over used. However, Georges did have some moments and he did rock Shields a few times. It was more than enough to win the fight, but even the great GSP wasn't impressed with his performance.
Questions after seeing GSP vs. Shields:
-With GSP's far from perfect performance, do you think a superfight between GSP and Anderson Silva is still being considered?
-If Nick Diaz was to make the jump to the UFC, would he truly be the biggest threat to Georges St. Pierre's title?
-Who would be a suitable opponent for Jake Shields when he returns to competition? Would a rematch with Martin Kampmann be a good choice or perhaps a rematch with Jason Miller if he could win in his UFC debut?
Notes from UFC 129:
-Mark Hominick showed the fans how big his heart truly was. He was being dominated by the Featherweight champion Jose Aldo for four rounds and sported a huge hematoma. But he dug deep in the fifth round and was very close to finishing the fight wounds and all. I don't think Hominick's stock is at all down from his performance and within a few fights could be back in the Featherweight title picture again.
-Lyoto Machida finished Randy Couture in such spectacular fashion with another front kick victory almost similar to teammate Anderson Silva. Apparently Steven Seagal “taught” that kick to the Black House fighters. If this truly is The Natural's last dance, at least he gone out on his shield against a top- ranked fighter. Thank you Randy for the memories growing up.
-Did you guys expect Vladimir Matyushenko to finish Jason Brilz in that fashion? In a recent interview we conducted with him for our debut episode of Split Decision radio, he said he was working on his striking with Antoni Hardonk. I guess it really paid off and it showed against Jason Brilz. Since Vladdy won this fight and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira lost to Phil Davis, do you think we should see a trilogy between Lil' Nog and the Janitor?
-Ben Henderson put on a heck of a performance against Mark Bocek showcasing some solid striking and knees in the clinch. Who would be a suitable opponent for Smooth in his next fight?
Lowkick.com UFC 129 awards:
Fight of the Night – Hands down, Mark Hominick vs. Jose Aldo deserves the fight of the night award. Jose Aldo dominated for a big chunk of the fight, but Mark Hominick was very close to coming back late in the fifth round. The display of striking technique and amount of heart shown will be a fight that will be remembered for a long time.
Performance of the Night – Jose Aldo put on a wonderful performance in defending his featherweight belt and dominated a very tough Mark Hominick for four rounds. His trip to Holland to visit K-1 MAX star Andy Souwer to help with his technical striking made a difference. Even little things like Aldo's head movement was superb.
Finish of the Night - Pablo Garza would get big props from Shinya Aoki for his spectacular flying triangle choke in the first round against Yve Jabouin during the Facebook prelims. Honorable mention to Lyoto Machida for his Steven Seagal Super Front Kick that possibly ended Randy Couture's career.
Disappointment of the Night - Unfortunately for Georges St. Pierre he is the receiptant of UFC 129's Disappointment of the Night. The champion may have done enough to win the fight, but he was far from the near perfect fighter we are used to watching. Once we figure out his eye problems and he recovers I expect him to come back better than ever, but as fan I hope to see him finish because I know he has it in him.
Photos: Francis Specker, Tracy Lee for Yahoo! CageWriter
Comments
if gsp does grow some nuts and moves up to 185 he will be very easily exposed by AS if jake messed him up that bad and is known for poorish stand up what will the middle weight champion do? AS is now without doubt the numero uno guy in the world and GSP solidified that last night, i see this fight not happening and if it does i honestly think AS will play with him and outclass him every round and not even try and finish the fight, well done GSP but far from being the best P4P fighter in the world, not finished a fight in ages, how is he supposed to beat AS
The same way Sonnen almost beat him minus the armbar gift at the end.
and you really think AS is at the same level as in the Sonnen fight??? You can forget about that whole scenario, cause obviously that was a hole in AS's game and i promise you that he won't let that happen a second time. You learn from your mistakes especially in MMA. If you don't u have no business being in the octagon, cause u know your opponents are gonna study your tape like it was a lesbian porn scene starring Arriany and Halle berry...
So GSP is gonna bulk up on those steroids and pray for AS to fight injured?
I dont know if gsp would win but its not difficult to figure out how he would proceed. We can only assume Silva improved his TD def but we will have to wait and see the Okami fight maybe.
Everybody was quick to make excuses for Silva " the rib..." but Gsp fought for three rounds with one eye and still landed strikes, won and suddenly he sucks and can't fight Silva? This is as retarded as Arrianny's first record single.
GSP would still beat AS. He wouldn't stand there like he did with Jake. Don't be ridiculous guys. He would take AS down for 5 rounds and that would be it.
Anderson fought with broken ribs!
GSP's couldnt use his eye!
I think these guys need to fight??
GSP is super dominant but hes one weakness is being not finishing, and im tired of his little boy shorts! there i said it! get some board shorts dude cmon!
iam really not interested in this fight, ill rather see gsp vs nick diaz and eventually ellenberger in the future hess looking pretty good
Grow some nuts? He is a professional MMA fighter you idiot.
gsp is p4p best,cause he doesn't get his ass beat in his fights.
AS may have flashy k.o,but he gsp lost 3 rds and he's career.
that less than AS last fight,:D.
GSP DOMINATED A TOUGH FIGHT IN JAKE SHIELDS, SOMEONE WHO HAD A 15-FIGHT WINNING STREAK AND WHO BEAT THE WHO AND WHO IN THE MMA WORLD. HAD HE ENGAGED FULLY WITH AN EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED JJ PRACTITIONER AND WRESTLER, HE COULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AND SUBMITTED. GSP IS A WINNER, AND A SMART FIGHTER WHO CAN ADJUST HIS STYLE TO BEAT ANY OPPONENT THEY PLACE BEFORE HIM. IF YOU WANT EXCITEMENT, WATCH THE LIKES OF MELVIN MANHOF WHO, IN DELIVERING EXCITING FIGHTS, LOST EVERY ONE OF THEM, LATELY...SO, GIVE GSP SOME CREDIT FOR BEATING AN OUTSTANDING CHAMP, PRETTY MUCH EASILY AND INCURRING VERY LITTLE DAMAGE. AS FOR THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE, I SUGGEST THAT U WATCH AGAIN GSP'S FIGHTS AGAINST SERRA (2), HUGHES (2/3), BJP (2) ...MAYBE, THAT WILL JOG YOUR SHORT MEMORY ABOUT HOW GREAT GSP IS...
man i feel feel you, gsp could barly deal with shields stand up. how the f*ck would he deal with andersons..... oh ya, he wouldnt. and after this i garauntee gsp wont even try it. plus there are other people id much rather see anderson fight than gsp.
i think gsp was looking for that kick and that ugly overhand right to please haters such as yourself. me personally i enjoyed the fight i think gsp had a different plan but once he lost vision on his left he went with a safer route and i dont blame him, hes trying to remain champ. is he a p4p fighter...you bet your ass he is he has victories and finishes against some of the best fighter in the world, just cause he hasnt been "finishing" his fights dont mean dont mean shit he has been fighting tough competition and hes not gonna go in there brawling just to please us, he has a legacy and a career to maintain
The fact that Shields who lacks in the stand up department messed him up real bad, A.S would absolutely crush him. A fight between him and Silva would definately shorten his career and make him look stupid in the process. Silva has defeated much better wrestlers(Sonnen and Hendo) than GSP will ever be and destroyed much better strikers(Belfort). I don't see how GSP would win that fight(if it ever happened) but he certainly isn't going to hold Silva down and dry hump him, sub him or ko' him. GSP's best bet is hoping Silva slips on a banana peel on the way to the cage and brakes his ankle.
fuuuuuuck!
hominick looks like E.T. or a klingon or something.
me no jabba wonga !!!
i dont even remember it looking that bad this morning (im from uk)
GSP tried man, but possibly over-tried for a spectacular finish...once his eye was f**ked, you could clearly see he couldnt see what he was aiming at and hoping for the best with those liddel-like overhands
still...
the best man won...but shields looked great despite looking outclassed by the best in the sport
Hej! I watched theese fights yesterday. As i aspected Aldo - Hominick fight was great and so the GSP fight was a one - way performance of repeating the same Uneffective movements. Although the "electricity was High" - this Fight was BORING.
Hominick showed that Aldo is beatable . Actually I was waiting for a little Harder ground game from Aldo but Homick performed well at this aspect . Can't wait for Aldo - Hominick rematch...!!!! It would be Great!!!
I think Mark did well but Aldo basically feell into that final moment scenario and was gassed. He said himself he did not feel tip top with conditioning. Look at his gas tank against Urijah faber for all 5 rounds. I think a rematch would be devestating finish by Aldo. He was better everywhere except his last minutes on his back being exhausted.
I agree with falcon. Aldo rocked Mark and few times and if he wasn't so tired I think the finish would have been there. To me this would have been the only time I think Aldo could have been beat but he wasn't.
Yes, actually I was a little bit shocked about Aldo being gased out - at one moment looked like he's in trouble. I think you could not compare the fight with Urijah because Hominick was that who gased Aldo out - you fight as your oponent allows you to fight.
Aldo has definetely kicking advantage, but Homick has the same or higher hand shooting abillity and also better conditioning - as we could see. :)
No way Aldo gasses that fast. He can usually pour it on forever. Hominick was far outclassed in terms of skill. Even with Aldo running low he was easily ahead in every round of that fight and even the 5th until the falling down to his back part.
I dont think Hominick was outclassed much at all. He got caught a couple of times and his TD defense wasnt up to scratch but for quite a while in the stand up Hominick dominated Aldo and owned him in round 5. Aldo was the better of the two overall no arguement, but outclassed? No.
Only owned him after he basically fell for him and was tired as anyone.
probably the best card, the best crowd, but the main event was honestly, boring. The best thing that happened there was the head kick, nothing else. I guess Anderson's plan would be "cut gsp" and then you can do anything, i guess.
I'd be surprised if f Aldo fights again at 145, he has put on so much weight and that really hurt him at 145. The move to 155 is very close for him I believe.
GSP fought for 3 almost 4 rounds with 1 eye and people wonder why his striking didn't look as precise and in his last fight? Are people really this stupid or just trolling?
That's what I want to see from Aldo.
Even in the first round he threw some big rights that missed. I don't see GSPs performance as spectacular. If you want spectacular look at what Hominick did in spite of far more damage. Hominick is a warrior and GSP is an athlete.
GSP doesn't killer instinct, YES
GSP had a lackluster performance, YES
BUT, GSP eyes were f-up after the 2d round and he still won with one punch.
but greg jackson said that he timing was way off,because of that stupid eye injury, so i cannot blame the game. AT least he didn't had he ass beat for 4 1/2 round....... cough,cough.
He still suffered more damage than the guy you coughed at and Mark hominick showed way more balls than GSP. By the way AS actually won a fight not decision. AS made it clear and GSP had people wondering what would happen in a few rounds after?
id rather see gsp get beat for 4 rounds and actually FINISH somebody, than the shit we saw last night, but that would never happen cuz gsp is the type of fighter that when sh*t doesnt go his way he loses confidence. after last night i garrauntee gsp wont fight siva, hes not that stupid.
he almost pissed his pants when he got a little swelling under his eye. GSP has become such a pussy its unbelievable. He rocked Shields in the fourth and didnt even attempt to finish
Nick diaz would be GSPs biggest threat to date. Hes got some of the best BJJ that he actually uses and he wills push the action against george on the feet. He can beat GSP anywhere
I was impressed with this kid in the Condit fight, I'm only more impressed with him, now.
To me - that was fight of the night. That was great; a truly dominate performance, he kicked the crap out of Nate; outclassed him everywhere.
I wish his next fight could be against Nick.
Give GSP a break. He stuffed so many takedowns and outboxed him despite have 0 depth perception cos he couldn't even see out of one eye.
Not to mention he dominated arguably one of the greatest P4P fighters of all time. Jake Shields can finish guys in an instant and open up the smallest of holes in your performance - he couldn't just go in there swinging, particularly after loosing his sight in one eye.
I for one only want to see GSP v Silva now because I think putting him against anyone else at Welterweight is just gonna be a waste of time.
good point...
Great fights with a disappointing finish. Aldos game off his back was exposed, Hominick has the heart of a lion, and GSP needs to start finishing fighters.
Rather watch GSP vs Nate then GSP vs Silva at this point. Silva's striking will always be superior to GSP, and after watching GSP stand with a guy I expected him to TKO, he left a lot of people less than impressed. Could have just been an off night, as we have seen him dismantle better strikers.
Shields should be fighting Alves, or Kos. Jason Miller should be looking to fight the same guys to get a shot at GSP. AS vs GSP...should probably just remain a debate between those who know and those who don't know MMA.
I wonder if I saw the same fights as most commentators...i
Hominick was NOT dominated by Aldo for most of the fight--certainly not in standup. For most of the standup, Hominick was dominating--but because Aldo got in some heavy-handed shots which rocked Hominick--that does not mean he dominated most of the fight.
Aldo got some excellent takedowns--but seemed unable to do much to Hominick once he got him on the ground. Hominick was badly rocked at least twice, and was taken down and held down in the early rounds--but I would not call that domination--since Hominick was hitting Aldo with good shots repeatedly.
St. PIerre was blind in one eye from the second round. When GSP mentioned his eye to his cornermen---it was because it was seriously affecting his game. Try closing one eye, then playing any sport--soon you will see that eyesight and depth perception have a lot to do with success. When Koscheck lost sight in his eye, he lost the fight--but GSP managed to win--that speaks volumes for his talent. Commentators who acknowledge the eye injury, yet still express diappointment with GSP's performance make me wonder about their judgement.
Machida showed his talent, and what a great kick. Knocked out Couture's teeth. Machida vs. Jones is coming.
Rory MacDonald looked fantastic--at 21 years old, he fought a crafty veteran and dominated.
Pablo Garza's flying triangle and Jason MacDonald's quick triangle both showed a high level of BJJ.
Bendo fought off Bocek's submission attempts easily.
Makdessi had an amazing spinning backfist knockout--this kid has put his second UFC fight and win--and he fights like a Tai Kwon Do fighter and it works for him!
This is mma, are we really gonna cut gsp that much slack in a sport where we've seen people come into fights with injuries, take illegal elbows, knees while grounded, low blows etc.. and continue fighting? Also this wasn't even an eye poke, his glove simply brushed georges open eye from a legal strike, bad luck yea, but enough with the excuses.
Excuse for what winning? Look we all want the finish but at the end of the day that doesn't take away from how great the champ is. It's not like there is someone out there that is finishing GSP.
Man... I just want to say: John Makdessi
Felt like he should have gotten knockout of the night. The Lightweight division undoubtedly took notice of this guy last night... Such as stacked division. I'd like to see Makdessi vs. Dennis Siver : )
No one really talked much about what should be next for Jake Shields. Martin Kampmann rematch or Mayhem rematch if Mayhem can beat Aaron Simpson?
i wouldnt mind seeing shields vs koscheck. Would be interesting to see how their wrestling abilities compare also how koscheck would do against an elite BJJ black belt
That would be a wonderful grappling clinic, good suggestion!
I finaly now saw the John Makdessi fight, and i am shocked he wasn't given the KO of the night award aswell as Machida, Plus here in england it wasn't even shown on tv, it started at the end of the main event but stopped before the fight started.
I think that monster on Mark's forehead has a heart too.
His forehead, has a forehead.
Great points about Nick and how the UFC will/could likely handle the situation. As a fan, I want to be assured that Nick will give GSPa tough fight, before the match is made. As of now I can't say that, so I hope he gets matched with a high level wrestler before he fights GSP. As you mentioned though, that might not happen, in order to maximize the chance of that fight happening. This fight could be HUGE, which is why your idea of a Diaz/Condit fight for #1 contendership is genius.
http://www.mmatko.com/georges-st-pierre-getting-poked-in-the-eye-by-jake-shields-slow-mo-video/#more-16775