If I was asked to some up UFC 129 in one word, then I would probably go with… wow! The fans were treated to an action packed night of fights, will a particularly explosive batch of undercard fights, with the only blip in my eyes being the Main event.
The opening fight of the PPV Card was Ben Henderson vs. Mark Bocek.
Henderson was the more energetic fighter throughout and controlled the pace of the fight early. Henderson landed some good strikes to take the initiative early, and Bocek found it hard to wrestle that advantage back as the fight went on.
Bocek did look to have Henderson in trouble on occasion with some submissions, but once Henderson opened a nasty cut on the head of Bocek, Henderson maintained the advantage to take the points victory.
Result – Henderson UD 30-27
Vladimir Matyushenko v Jason Brilz
This one was all over in just 20 seconds, with Matyushenko landing a huge flurry of punches early on to knock Brilz to the canvass. Matyushenko rained down with the hammer fists and it was all over.
Result – Matyuskenko KO 1
Lyoto Machida v Randy Couture
In my fight preview for UFC 129, I said Machida is sometimes guilty of not being considered entertaining. Well, on tonight’s performance, he blew any perception of that right out of the water.
With Steven Segal in his corner, Machida produced a vicious “Karate Kid” Crane front kick to violently knock Couture into retirement midway through the second round.
Machida had said in interviews leading into the fight that he was looking to be more aggressive, noting the unjust decision loses he has encountered previously, and tonight was an emphatic display of what he is capable of.
Machida’s knockout of Couture will be remembered as much as he is for his violent knockout of Rashad Evans, giving Machida an enviable record of having two of the sport’s biggest names on his list as knockout victims.
Throughout the fight Couture struggled to get near the elusive Machida and Couture was unable to use his patented take down’s offense.
Machida fought well at a distance picking his moments and struck with devastating effect.
The win puts Machida firmly in World Title reckoning, in a division that is littered with talent.
What’s next for Machida, may rely on the outcome of next month’s Rampage v Hamill fight, with Machida potentially getting a shot at the winner, with the fight perhaps being for a future shot at the title.
Jose Aldo v Mark Hominick
I said in my preview that this fight had the potential to steal the show. It did just that and more.
Aldo was expected to finish the fight quickly and although he started the fight at great pace, Hominick was able to keep him honest with his strikes.
There were reports going into the fight that Aldo had struggled to make the weight and was cutting weight hours up the weigh in and that it had taken a physical toll.
We began seeing a sign of that late in the 1st round, as Aldo was noticeably gasping for air.
Aldo was doing enough though, with his hand speed catching Hominick coming in and ensuring that he would win the round.
Both men began to suffer cuts, though Hominick was noticeably worse with a large cut to both his cheek and under his right eye.
Hominick showed tremendous striking ability rocking Aldo on numerous occasions, but just as Hominick would look as if he was going to steal the round, Aldo would land a big shot, tagging Hominick and sending him to the mat.
The most shocking part of the fight though was the massive hematoma created on Hominick’s forehead, which just has to be seen to be believed. Credit must go to the referee, Big John McCarthy and ringside doctor who allowed the fight to continue.
Hominick was brave throughout and in the final round had Aldo on his back, and was a big shot or two away from finishing the fight.
But credit must be given to Aldo for battling on and using his guard to prevent one of the best finishers in the UFC from doing just that.
Hominick was a mess at the bell, with the massive hematoma on his forehead, closed right eye and numerous cuts, but still joked that he hoped his appearance had not sent his expecting pregnant wife to go into labour.
Let’s hope we see a rematch!
If you didn’t get a chance to see this fight… do yourself a favour and track it down.
Decision – Aldo UD
George St Pierre v Jake Shields
UFC 129 GSP attacks Jakes Shields (Courtesy: UFC)
After a night of so much action and devastating knockouts, the anticipation for the main event was at fever pitch. However, it must be said that in comparison to the action from the nights earlier fights, the main event was lacking.
GSP controlled the early rounds with his stand-up, with his consistent jab and elusiveness ensuring he would win the rounds.
His boxing ability and his hard to get at style is a mark of Freddie Roach and is evident in his other pupils Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan.
Shields just could not land consistently or with any great velocity throughout the early rounds, and generally this continued for the full five rounds.
GSP continued to be elusive and Shields became more aggressive, landing some big shots that cut GSP and left him unable to see out of his left eye.
But Shields was unable to ram home this advantage and GSP continued to look comfortable even with the damage sustained.
GSP was not willing to be too aggressive, given his inability to see out of his left eye and the fight fizzled out into somewhat of a stalemate.
GSP was restrained from engaging too much, yet did enough to win the round, and remained elusive enough so that Shields could not lands consistent shots and change the outlook of the fight.
Given the fight build up focused around the tremendous Jiu-Jitsu ability of Shields, it was surprising to see Shields unable to take GSP down at anytime during the fight, and I was more surprised to see Shields not become more desperate as the fight came closer to the finish.
I thought Shields would look to shoot more or just throw everything but the kitchen sink at GSP, but maybe we need to credit GSP’s elusiveness, in the fact that Shields was unable to do so.
St Pierre takes a Unanimous decision, and with Shields the most credible challenger to GSP’s Welterweight Title, you have to really scratch your head to find a viable option for GSP at Welterweight.
Whilst every fight fan wants to see GSP v Silva, the more I think about it, the only way I think that fight will happen is if it is held at an agreed catch weight, slightly above the Welterweight limit, but not quite at Middleweight.
I think if the fight was held at Middleweight, Silva would have a distinct advantage, given Silva is a “big” Middleweight and has fought in the Light-Heavyweight division comfortably.
Whether or not Silva could even make my proposed catch weight limit, is just one question of the many that need answering. In saying that, fight fans will not lose hope.
For Shields, it is back to the drawing board and he will have to go away and fight his way back to the title shot.
Many were waiting to see whether Shields was an “elite fighter”, and after tonight’s performance you would have to say not quite yet.
We fight fans go away happy with a stunning night of fights and the need to recompose ourselves for the next card on May 29, UFC 130.
Headlined by Frankie Edgar & Gray Maynard 3, with Rampage v Hamill and Mir v Nelson supporting, it is a good time to be a fight fan.
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