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The next few UFC pay per views have fight fans everywhere salivating, kicking off with a bumper UFC 129.
UFC 129 eminates from the 55,000 capacity Rogers Centre in Toronto, making UFC 129 the biggest attendance in UFC history.
The event sold out in a matter of minutes and with a card as good as this, that’s no surprise.
The main event has Canada’s hero Georges “Rush” St Pierre (or GSP) defending his UFC Welterweight Championship against Jake Shields.
Many see this fight already as a done deal, with Shields being just another body, and looking at what St Pierre may do after this fight.
But Jake Shields is not just another body.
Jake Shields has been undefeated for almost six years and has won his last fifteen fights. It’s been 11 years since Shields has even been knocked down.
He is seen by many as being the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu exponent in the UFC.
He is a former champion in Elite XC, Rumble on the Rock and Strikeforce.
In that 15 fight win streak, he has beaten names such as Yushin Okami, Dan Henderson, Carlos Condit,Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, Jason Miller and Martin Kampman in recent times, although some will argue that he beat both Lawler, Miller, Henderson after they had been cut by the UFC.
Whilst its true Shields did look sluggish in his UFC debut at UFC 121, Shields points to the trouble he had in cutting weight to get to the Welterweight limit, opposed to the Middleweight division he was fighting in Strikeforce.
Shields considers it a learning experience, and says it will not happen this time.
Whilst many aren’t worried by Shields impressive recent efforts, it’s clear that he has Georges St Pierre at least a little worried.
St Pierre has gone on the most extensive camp of his career to prepare for Jake Shields.
He has travelled to London to complete training with Jiu-Jitsu master, Roger Gracie and Olympic sprinter, Linford Christie and he has followed boxing master Freddie Roach around the world to work on his striking. All this on top of his normal fight preparations in Montreal.
St Pierre has left no stone unturned for this fight; such is the quality of Shields. Although many have already dismissed Shields as a credible opponent, but not quite of St Pierre level.
Whilst Shields may not be considered elite yet, he has something that skill cannot always account for and that is heart.
He has been written off before. No one expected him to win Rumble on the Rock 8, were he beat Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit in the same night, nor when he defeated Hayato Sukarai on 10 days notice.
Shields knows nobody expects him to win, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The fight could be Georges St Pierre’s last fight in the Welterweight division with murmurs of St Pierre moving to Middleweight, which is no surprise given Shields is seemingly the only challenger of note that he has left in the division.
Tip: Georges St Pierre to retain by unanimous decision
Aldo vs Hominick
The UFC Featherweight Championship fight between Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick has the potential to steal the show.
It could be strongly argued that Jose Aldo is the most exciting fighter in the sport.
The fact is, there aren’t that many people doing back flips off the top of the cage following a victory.
Nor is there anyone that has been able to finish their opponent in just nine seconds, following two vicious knees and a couple of right hands.
Many argue that Aldo is the #1 pound for pound fighter in the sport, which is disputed by many fight fans given the fact that this will be the first time many fight fans see him fight. Aldo he has been fighting in the WEC which has finally been amalgamated into the UFC brand.
Current number one pound for pound, Anderson “The Spider” Silva has said if Aldo ever makes it the 185 pounds he will retire.
The move of the lighter division from the WEC to the UFC, gives the world a chance to finally set eyes on Aldo… and Mark Hominick.
Mark Hominick has some serious hands, and is one of the best strikers in all of the UFC, is technically sound and a tremendous finisher. Aldo will only have to give him a sniff to lose his title.
Hominick has a patchy record with eight losses, but he has won some big fights, and no one expected him to win.
When the fight starts, don’t move, anything could happen.
Tip: Jose Aldo to retain by unanimous decision
Couture vs Machida
No one knows for sure whether UFC 129 will be Randy Couture’s final ever appearance in the UFC even though Couture has said as much.
We all know how retirements work in the fighting game, with Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson and even our own Danny Green and Jeff Fenech recent examples.
But if it is the case, then Randy “The Natural” Couture has certainly not decided to take a charity fight to ensure he goes into retirement a winner.
He has picked a dangerous opponent in Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. Machida is coming off back to back losses against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, where Machida lost the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title and a controversial points loss to Rampage Jackson.
Machida has said in interviews that he will look to be more aggressive, as he feels the judges perhaps do not understand his style, which most fighters find tricky, as Machida is quite elusive.
This style also means that some of his fights are not as “entertaining” as other fighters, which is a reason perhaps why UFC president, Dana White, did not grant Machida an immediate rematch with Jackson, given most thought the matched “sucked”.
But those that are critical should view the tape of Machida knocking the life out of Rashad Evans. It proves when he gets it right, he is deadly.
But Machida must win in order to stay relevant in a division swarming with talent.
Win Jon Jones sweeping all before him to take the Light-Heavyweight Title, Rashad Evans out for redemption, Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson angling for another crack at the title, the winner of this fight can put themselves in calculations.
With Jon Jones injured currently, the bout with Rashad Evans is in jeopardy. An opportunity may exist for either man.
Would a shot at the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title be enough to see Couture go around again??
With Couture 47 years old, it would make for a truly remarkable story.
He is coming off a three fight win streak, although in my opinion perhaps a little overstated given those three wins were against James Toney, Mark Coleman and Brandon Vera.
But you write off Couture at your peril, and if this is the last time we see Captain America in the ring… he aint gonna leave anything in the cage.
Tip: Randy Couture by unanimous decision
A strong card for UFC 129.
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