But one of the stories that hasn't received a lot of attention is that of the comeback trail. Lyoto Machida, Rory MacDonald, Ivan Menjivar, and Jason MacDonald all came up big when it mattered the most... with their backs against the wall.
Color me unimpressed with Georges St. Pierre's performance last night at UFC 129, or should I say... "I am not impressed by your performance". The UFC welterweight champion did exactly as predicted by nearly every single MMA writer and fan close to the sport.
In the main event of the evening, current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (21-2) will hope to defend his crown for a sixth time as he battles former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (26-4-1) in what many fans believe will be a classic style clash.
Vying for the UFC featherweight crown on Saturday night at UFC 129, Canadian striker Mark Hominick (20-8) will aim to challenge dominant Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo (18-1) following a run of four straight wins under Zuffa's banner.
Rashad Evans didn't have a clue what he was up against when he stepped into the cage against challenger Lyoto Machida at UFC 98. In every interview in the lead-up to the title showdown, Evans was confident, indicating that he would expose Machida to the world and prove his championship status.
When the Zuffa decided to merge World Extreme CageFighting (WEC) into the UFC late last year, the focal point of the deal for most fans was the inclusion of the featherweight and bantamweight divisions, two weight classes that housed some of mixed martial arts' most exciting fights in recent years.
Opinions. We've all got one. Whether it be that Japanese mixed martial arts isn't dead yet, Fedor Emelianenko is the greatest of all-time, or Don Frye has the best mustache ever. Opinions fuel debate and discussions among the legions of fans across the landscape of the sport. Without them, sports wouldn't be as interesting.
