UFC 129 Results: Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields Recap and Analysis
by Mike Fagan on May 1, 2011 3:41 AM EDT
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Heading into the main event, UFC 129 made a serious case for not just the greatest fight under the Zuffa banner, but the greatest MMA event of all time. Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick put on the eventual Fight of the Night in their fight for the UFC's featherweight title. Lyoto Machida sent Randy Couture to retirement and a tooth to the canvas with a crane kick of death. Of the eleven bouts, five ended by knockout, two by submission, and Rory MacDonald German suplexed Nate Diaz around the Octagon like an early-90s All Japan Pro Wrestling match.
Then Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields entered the Rogers Centre to fight for the welterweight title. There's disagreement over where to place the blame (I believe that Shields' lack of urgency for a takedown hurt the bout more than anything else), but, as the proverb goes, it takes two to tango.
St. Pierre showcased the superior kickboxing that was an axiom for prefight analysis, controlling distance and utilizing his jab throughout the fight. Shields had no answer for St. Pierre on the feet, looking as awkward and ineffective as ever.
After round three, St. Pierre complained to his corner that he couldn't see out of his left eye. Cornerman Greg Jackson responded, "You've got one eye, you're fine."
St. Pierre continued to control the standup without the use of his lead eye. He lost the complete dominance that characterized rounds one through three, but Shields was unable to exploit the injury (if he was even aware of it).
The judges awarded St. Pierre a unanimous decision with one judge scoring every round for the champion. The two other judges saw the fight 48-47 for St. Pierre.
The hometown Rogers Centre crowd lacked the same level of enthusiasm for St. Pierre's victory prevalent for the other Canadians on the show.
- Jake Shields strategy was bizarre, to say the least. The consensus felt that Shields only hope to win the title centered around his ability to catch St. Pierre in a submission hold. Instead of relentless takedown attempts, Shields engaged in a kickboxing bout over three rounds. Needing a finish in round five, Shields lacked any urgency, allowing St. Pierre to cruise through the round en route to a successful title defense.
- Jab. Jab. Jab. Jab. Jab.
- I tweeted somewhere during the second round that I had no interest in watching St. Pierre fight at 170 pounds. It looks like Zuffa might push St. Pierre into a bout with Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz, though Lorenzo Fertitta asked on Twitter whether fans were more interested in GSP vs. Diaz or GSP vs. Anderson Silva in the long sought after superfight. I think you know where I stand, reader.
- I'm not sure where two judges found two rounds for Jake Shields.
- Discussion of Jose Aldo usurping St. Pierre and Anderson Silva in pound-for-pound rankings tempered after tonight's successful title defense. Aldo tired at different points in the bout, looking especially vulnerable in a fifth round that he seemed content just to survive through.
- Bruce Buffer originally read Douglas Crosby's scorecard as 50-43 for Aldo. It was later determined to be an error, and Crosby's actual card was 48-45 for Aldo. I haven't seen word about the cause for the error.
- In another odd decision from the commission, the fight doctor cageside allowed Hominick, twice, to fight with a bulging hematoma on the right side of his forehead. After a nasty cut opened in the fifth, Hominick's face resembled the low-health countenance of the hero in Wolfenstein 3D. To his credit, Hominick fought an inspired period in the fifth despite the condition of his face.
- Lyoto Machida sent Randy Couture off into the sunset with one less tooth. Machida upped the ante following Anderson Silva's Front Kick of Doom to Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 with a crane kick that knocked out Couture 65 seconds into round two.
- I think that ends any talk of Couture fighting again. It's hard to imagine a fight that he could take that would make sense for him and the UFC.
- Machida ended all hopes of another Couture miracle after shrugging Couture off in the first clinch battle in round one. Couture's greatest weapon was taken away, and it was just a matter of time before Machida landed a fight-ending strike from distance.
- "The Janitor" cleaned things up early. #BadSportsPuns
- Nothing tickled me more than a silent response from 55,000 fans after Ben Henderson asked for an amen. Get outta here with that stuff.
- Athleticism and aggression was the difference between Bocek and Henderson.
- Rory MacDonald's back on the map. MacDonald looked better than Nate Diaz in every facet of the fight, and three huge belly-to-back suplexes drew a huge reaction from the live audience and the crowd on Twitter tonight. Manly stuff from the 21 year old.
- It looked like Sean Pierson thought the fight was just starting after Jake Ellenberger knocked his block off.
- I enjoyed Ivan Menjivar's nose-smashing elbow to Charlie Valencia's face, but I'm not sure I needed to see it three times over the course of the evening.
- Jason MacDonald on his submission over Ryan Jensen: "You know the slam isn't the best defense of the triangle choke." All you young fighters out there, you aren't "Rampage" Jackson. Learn proper defense instead of half-hearted slams.
- On any other night, John Makdessi's spinning back fist KO of Kyle Watson wins the Knockout of the Night.
- I had trouble with the Facebook stream tonight, missing the first two minutes of Pablo Garza's date with Yves Jabouin. Fortunately, I did not miss his Submission of the Night-winning flying triangle.
- Forrest Lynn disagreed with me on the radio show, but I felt the atmosphere at the Rogers Centre didn't translate well on any of the broadcasts. Both Luke Thomas and Matt Bishop raved about the experience inside the building.
Fighter of the Night
(Photos from Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Lots of contenders tonight, but I don't think anyone did more to increase his stock than Rory MacDonald in his victory over Nate Diaz. MacDonald outclassed Diaz throughout the bout, and capped that with a series of huge slams that brought a huge rise from the audience at the Rogers Centre. It's hard to imagine that MacDonald is still only 21 years of age, but he looks to have rebounded from a tough loss to Carlos Condit.
Moment of the Night
Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting
Not only is this the last moment in Randy Couture's professional fighting career, it's also a serious contender for knockout of the year.
Mike Goldberg Line of the Night
Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting
"Mark Hominick may have to finish this fight, Joe."
Likely down 4-0 heading into the fifth round, Mike Goldberg noted that Mark Hominick probably needed a finish to win the bout. Now, the sentiment behind the statement is correct. However, it's the lack of conviction that bothers me. Goldberg is so reluctant to say anything negative about any UFC fighters that it affects his ability to relay the narrative of a fight.
Entrance Song of the Night
It was hard to hear a lot of the music tonight, and a lot of the entrances for the Facebook prelims were cut from the stream. So, here's Red Rider with "Lunatic Fringe" which is featured on the soundtrack for Vision Quest, a movie I am told is must-see.
The Chopping Block
Despite Dana White's assurance that Zuffa needs more fighters, there's no margin for error in the UFC. It only takes one loss to find a pink slip waiting for you on Monday morning. Who's on the Chopping Block?
Daniel Roberts
Yves Jabouin
Ryan Jensen
Charlie Valencia
More Bloody Elbow UFC 129 Results and analysis:
- Georges St. Pierre Holds Back UFC's Canadian Coming Out Party at UFC 129 - Jonathan Snowden
- Is Steven Seagal Secretly a Martial Arts Genius? - Jonathan Snowden
- UFC 129 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- Play by Play and Live Commentary - Brent Brookhouse
- Georges St. Pierre Slips Past Jake Shields
- Jose Aldo Holds Off Mark Hominick
- Lyoto Machida Clouts Randy Couture
- Vladimir Matyushenko Mops the Floor With Jason Brilz
- Ben Henderson Whips Up On Mark Bocek
- Rory MacDonald Ragdolls Nate Diaz
- Jake Ellenberger Brutalizes Sean Pierson
- Claude Patrick Edges Daniel Roberts
- Pablo Garza Submits Yves Jabouin
- John Makdessi KO's Kyle Watson With Spinning Back Fist
- Jason MacDonald Triangles Ryan Jensen
- Ivan Menjivar Clocks Charlie Valencia
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that mouse was a rat
on Homminick
¬_¬
by ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ on May 1, 2011 3:48 AM EDT reply actions
Aldo tired at different points in the bout, looking especially vulnerable in a fifth round that he seemed content just to survive through.
I don’t know if Aldo was tired but I do know that Aldo is a nice guy and after seeing Hominick’s face, he likely backed off. He did the same thing against Faber. When he’s outclassing a guy badly and disfiguring them, he often eases up off the pedal when the fight is in hand.
Also, Hominick had the best entrance song of the night.
Twitter: @FlyByKnite
I don’t know if Aldo was tired but I do know that Aldo is a nice guy and after seeing Hominick’s face, he likely backed off.
Yes, Aldo was tired as hell. And no, he didn’t back off on Hominick.
So let me get this straight: the WWE has gone from the powerful "Austin 3:16" to the dominant and iconic "Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?" all the way to... (cue baby voice) "You can't see me." Oh, believe me, we all can see you. A blind-folded, sleeping, stuck in the basement, Stevie Wonder can see your monkey ass. - The Rock
Aldo definitely looked tired
but also he didn’t look to be in any danger in that 5th round despite the crowd’s roars. He seemed to be just chilling on his back, content to sit there riding out the punches (which didn’t look that hard, the ones that landed), because he knew he had won most, if not all, of the other rounds.
Exactly, I was really not liking the commentary when Hominick was doing ground n pound in the fifth. Some of the shots that were “big shots” were simply hitting Aldo’s arms, or they were just arm punches. I also have to wonder if Aldo really was exhausted in the fifth because I didn’t get that impression. Honestly, I personally feel that we only saw Aldo at 80% during that fight.
Check out the C&D Channel on YouTube for MMA reviews, predictions, analysis, and other MMA related content.
Thanks for the review Fagan.
Always look forward to the final recap.
The third round of Rory’s fight was so impressive.
Also, I will NEVER get tired of seeing the Machida KO. Now watch: All the fairweather fans will be back on the Machida bandwagon.
MACHIDA ERA FOREVER!!!!
or at least until he loses again. Then in that case he should retire because he is washed up.
fyi..
Those wernt suplexes. A suplex is straight back. Youtube kaziyuki miyata for an example.
by TrueTillDeath on May 1, 2011 4:54 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
those weren't...
German suplexes?
by John Danaher's Hair on May 1, 2011 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions
In a german suplex
You go straight back over your own head. The first half was the same, the second half of the suplex was different.
Rory has a ton of bacne. Was that around for the Condit fight too?
"Unless you can’t think of something intelligent to say, don’t reply and make the world as dumb as you are appearing to be." - mabel4life
IDK, but
that is not unusual at his age. I frequently was accused of steroid use in college, largely because of my bacne, of which I still have periodic significant outbreaks of, 20+ years later.
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid." -John Wayne
Death before dishonor, drinks before lunch.
by The American Ronin on May 1, 2011 5:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Probably just had a bad breakout
It was on his face too. Happens to most of us unlucky humans.
"Jake Shields strategy was bizarre, to say the least. "
And Gilbert Melendez owes me $50. Telling jake not to pull guard. WTF!?!?
Where the fuck was Ceasar? I am on to you Canada…… you wouldn’t let Ceasar in and then you paid off Melendez to give the worst corner advice ever.
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on May 1, 2011 3:59 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
fucking mounties are inleague with gsp!!
I know what’s going on here >:/
I am on to you guys Fagan!
"Many have the will to win. Few have to will to prepare to win."
" A black belt only covers 2 inches of your ass. The rest is up to you." - Royce Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on May 1, 2011 4:02 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The blame is on Shields definitely. But Shields was doing good enough, to which he was content to keep trying, rather than to keep getting his takedowns swatted away. GSP played him perfectly, and kept Shields in a box. People, this is what GSP is good at, taking your will away, and making you feel like you only have one option in the fight. And that’s to fight GSPs fight…
Yet Shields still won two rounds according to two different judges while fighting Georges’ fight. Makes it out to be that if Shields had shown a tad more aggression in his striking, he would have won. I don’t get why Shields just didn’t go all out with his striking. Georges wasn’t going to take him down unless he absolutely had to. Hell, it only seemed like Georges took Shields down when there was like 15 seconds left in the round just so he wouldn’t get caught.
Twitter: @FlyByKnite
it only seemed like Georges took Shields down when there was like 15 seconds left in the round just so he wouldn’t get caught.
I seem to remember GSP taking Shields down about a minute into either the 3rd or 4th round. I was actually surprised he went for a takedown so early, but he stood back up not too long after.
yo dawg, i heard you like foreheads, so we put a forehead on your forehead
http://mixedmartialartsblogger.wordpress.com/
http://mixedmartialartsblogger.wordpress.com/
by Cory Braiterman on May 1, 2011 4:16 AM EDT up reply actions
Goldberg moment
I can’t remember the fight, or when exactly it happend, but i know there was a fight where all of a sudden Goldberg said “11 years…..” and was silent for something like 30 seconds after that. My girl got a pretty good chuckle about it as well. I know he eventaully tied it into something, but it was a good one.
Didn’t Goldberg say that he stopped doubting Couture when he beat Sylvia in Columbus and then said that’s when Couture was a “young” 37?
Twitter: @FlyByKnite
I rolled my eyes on that one. No way Randy was 37 at that time. Oh Goldie
So let me get this straight: the WWE has gone from the powerful "Austin 3:16" to the dominant and iconic "Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?" all the way to... (cue baby voice) "You can't see me." Oh, believe me, we all can see you. A blind-folded, sleeping, stuck in the basement, Stevie Wonder can see your monkey ass. - The Rock
Yea
The thing that drives me most crazy about Goldberg is that he ends every sentence with “Joe” like he is actually informing or teaching him something. To everyone else it seems he is in a contest of stating the most obvious with himself. There is NOTHING he can teach or observe to Joe that he doesn’t know already.
Personally
I very much enjoyed when late in the fourth round of GSP’s fight he said “the welterweight title is on the line,” thanks for telling us Mike.
Let the fighters fight, let the referees ref, but dear God, don't let the judges judge.
by halitosis on May 1, 2011 10:29 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
After a nasty cut opened in the fifth, Hominick's face resembled the low-health countenance of the hero in Wolfenstein 3D
Fucking Priceless
I'd like to take a moment to say
They could have raised the sounds levels on the crowd and slightly more on the in-cage mics. It’s maybe a little cheesy to put the crowd mic levels up closer to the red line but there were times where the crowd was barely audible.
The commission might have complained
that the loud noise was making them write the wrong things on the scorecards!
The UFC has to do a much better job of getting crowd noise in.
Managing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on May 1, 2011 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions
maybe it was because of the stadium
it’s bigger, which means the sound waves have more room to move. IIRC, Chris Jericho said that although the biggest crowd he ever competed in front of was the Skydome (Rogers Center), he mentioned that the crowd reaction was not on par compared to crowds of smaller arenas (MSG, etc.) even though he knew that the fans in Skydome were already screaming their hearts out..
So let me get this straight: the WWE has gone from the powerful "Austin 3:16" to the dominant and iconic "Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?" all the way to... (cue baby voice) "You can't see me." Oh, believe me, we all can see you. A blind-folded, sleeping, stuck in the basement, Stevie Wonder can see your monkey ass. - The Rock
Hey Mike
Hahaa, how’d you like Ben Henderson “throwin up the whole God thing” after the fight again? Why do I get the feeling that if someone said to Joe “Praise allah, death to all you infidels” all we’d here is crickets or “Hey! We cannot judge! Racists!”
Pierson-Ellenberger
Yea, good catch on that. I noticed it too so I went back and watched it a couple times and by the look on his face when the cutman told him, he DEFINITELY thought the fight was just starting or, more likely, in between rounds..
Should have been a draw
I’m not sure where two judges found two rounds for Jake Shields.
I was with a group of 6 people. 5 of us gave rounds 3 and 4 to Shields and scored the 5th round a draw. The 6th person only gave Shields 1 round, but scored two of the rounds a draw.
Cecil?
And then God created Saturn ... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
SaberCats Examiner | SB Nation Bay Area | Niners Nation | Twitter
by James Brady on May 1, 2011 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
If you remove the takedowns
since Shields wanted to be on the ground, the striking was very close in those rounds. And even fight metric gives Shields the 5th round and says the Shields landed more significant strikes in the 4th. The only really significant strike was the head kick, which Shields transitioned into a takedown attempt so it was hard for me to say it was that damaging of a strike.
I've been to all four Montreal shows
And I was at this show.
I can assure you, the Toronto crowd was louder.
www.hottopicwithphil.com
Who is the fat dude in the hockey jersey?
Also, I was pretty annoyed when Rogan kept saying Hominick was “out-boxing” Aldo and pretty much every time he said that Aldo would slip a jab or land a nice counter.
Agree. It was a great fight and both fighters head movement was incredible…..especially Aldo early on.
by GeeDub on May 1, 2011 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Dana White. promised one lucky fan the opportunity to put the belt on GSP
Let the fighters fight, let the referees ref, but dear God, don't let the judges judge.
by halitosis on May 1, 2011 10:33 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Like I said in the live results, Rogan fucked up the call for that fight pretty hard. If you were watching with your eyes closed you’d think that from round 2 onward it was all Hominick other than when he got dropped.
Managing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on May 1, 2011 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions
I did not like Rogan’s commentary at all during the Aldo vs Hominick fight. Aldo was slipping and countering many of Hominick’s punches. During the fifth round, he was making it sound like Hominick was utterly thrashing Aldo with ground n pound when many of those punches were hitting Aldo’s arms or were arm punches. Also, I don’t believe that Aldo was as tired or “exhausted” as Rogan made it out to be in the fifth. The post UFC 129 event stuff from Rogan was good though because he pretty much acknowledged that Shields had bad standup, and it only looked good because GSP was tentative.
Check out the C&D Channel on YouTube for MMA reviews, predictions, analysis, and other MMA related content.
In another odd decision from the commission, the fight doctor cageside allowed Hominick, twice, to fight with a bulging hematoma on the right side of his forehead.
Why is it odd? Are there any medical reasons why the fight should have been stopped because it didn’t seem have any effect on his vision?
I enjoyed Ivan Menjivar’s nose-smashing elbow to Charlie Valencia’s face, but I’m not sure I needed to see it three times over the course of the evening.
Agreed, and at the same they missed out completely on showing the epic spinning backfist KO by Makdessi. That was a fucking travesty.. I know it came in the third round of the fight, but if you didn’t have the time to show the whole fight, then at least just make sure to show the last round or just the finish. Seriously weak sauce.. and they should have done two KOTN bonuses, he definitely deserved one for that.
I was also told this in another thread. As you can tell I totally missed that.. so I feel a little silly now. But I stand by my comment about the bonuses.
by Horselover Fat on May 1, 2011 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions
I like How Aldo/Hominick is getting all this praise as an incredible, amazing fight. It was neither of these
It started of Hominick realizing he’s not even close to Aldo skill wise, then Aldo gassing terribly, but Hominick too physically broken to finish the fight, and Aldo riding out a win “super glue” style.
I thought it was a great display of skill and heart, but after watching it twice now, I feel MMA writers are trying to morph this into something it wasn’t with flowery verbiage and sensationalized recollections.
You know Joe, Brandon Vera is considered to be a Heavyweight George St.Pierre because he just comes, comes, and comes again... -Mike Goldberg, UFC 57
Cheick Kongo looks like a cross between Evander Holyfield and pop singer Seal!
Melvin Guilard looks like a little Kevin Randelman!
-Mike "All black people look alike to me" Goldberg, UFC 62/64
I thought it was a good fight, and given the drama of the fight probably deserving of the FOTN bonus, but I agree that it’s not going to be a contender for fight of the year (or fight of the half-year).
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
Cool
You know Joe, Brandon Vera is considered to be a Heavyweight George St.Pierre because he just comes, comes, and comes again... -Mike Goldberg, UFC 57
Cheick Kongo looks like a cross between Evander Holyfield and pop singer Seal!
Melvin Guilard looks like a little Kevin Randelman!
-Mike "All black people look alike to me" Goldberg, UFC 62/64
Daniel Roberts shouldn't be cut
I think he is 3-2 in the UFC, with one loss coming in his debut to knockout artist Jon Howard..comon, the others I can see, but give Roberts one more shot.
“Nothing tickled me more than a silent response from 55,000 fans after Ben Henderson asked for an amen. Get outta here was that stuff”
Yes, he should have to cater to you and your views in his post fight interview. Sounds like intolerance to me, you get outta here with THAT stuff, please.
Alistair Overeem - StrikeForce Heavyweight Champion, K-1 2010 World Grand Prix Champion, DREAM Heavyweight Champion
June 18th, 2011:
Fabricio Werdoomsday
Game Overeem
I will NEVER doubt the greatness of GSP again
Nothing tickled me more than a silent response from 55,000 fans after Ben Henderson asked for an amen. Get outta here was that stuff.
Welcome to Canada, home of left wing atheist douche bags.
"Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth."
Chris McCandless A.K.A. Alexander Supertramp
1968-1992
Or maybe fighters should stop
Confusing the cage with their church
First off, I am Canadian bro, so don't think I'm being racist, I'm completely objective.
So you think Hominick was out of place giving his wife a shout out? The cage isn’t his home you know, that must be a negative thing.
"Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth."
Chris McCandless A.K.A. Alexander Supertramp
1968-1992
Do you really think there is'nt a difference
between saying hi to a person and trying to get an entire crowd to play your religious games? Explain to me how not wanting to play Henderson’s religious games make the crowd a bunch of douche bags?
Nope. Saying that God empowered him is no worse, he's being about 10x more humble than near every other fighter.
Also, they’re douche bags because they booed it, they didn’t just go silent. And because I’m from west Canada and we give east Canada over $30 billion a year in EI payments.
"Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth."
Chris McCandless A.K.A. Alexander Supertramp
1968-1992
I don't think the boos were because of the reference to a god...
…more likely Bendo got booed because he just beat up on their homer, then tried to get crowd support. Boos were the likely response to anything he would have said.
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