UFC 129 Results: GSP vs. Shields

[Boanerges]

Main Card
Georges St-Pierre def. Jake Shields via unanimous decision
Jose Aldo def. Mark Hominick via unanimous decision
Lyoto Machida def. Randy Couture via second-round TKO
Vladimir Matyushenko def. Jason Brilz via first-round TKO
Ben Henderson def. Mark Bocek via unanimous decision

Preliminary Bouts
Rory MacDonald def. Nate Diaz via unanimous decision
Jake Ellenberger def. Sean Pierson via first-round TKO
Claude Patrick def. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision
Ivan Menjivar def. Charlie Valencia via first-round TKO
Jason MacDonald def. Ryan Jensen via submission (triangle)
John Makdessi def. Kyle Watson via third-round KO
Pablo Garza def. Yves Jabouin via submission (triangle)

[Boanerges]

4/30/2011 10:08 PM ET By Mike Chiappetta MMA Writer

TORONTO -- This is the UFC 129 live blog for Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida, a light heavyweight bout on tonight's pay-per-view at the Rogers Centre.

Couture (19-10) last fought in August, submitting boxer James Toney with an arm-triangle choke. Couture says this will be his last MMA fight. Machida (16-2) lost back-to-back fights last year against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Huge ovation for Couture as he appears on screen for the first time. He looks relaxed as always, winking to the crowd as he walks through them for what might be the last time.

Round 1: Machida dancing around the outside early, Couture trying to close the distance. Machida staggered Couture with a left hand. Moments later, Couture tries to close the gap again, and again Machida drills him. Couture has a bruise already. The crowd tries to help him along by chanting his name, but every time he gets within hand's reach of Machida, his opponent is landing punches. The quickness advantage is evident. A straight left for Machida finds its mark. Then a Machida knee. Couture finally gets the clinch with :45 left but Machida easily works free. A Machida knee lands flush with :10 left. Couture is going to have to make some major adjustments. It's all Machida, 10-9.

Round 2: Couture's face is lumped up below the left eye. Machida is picking him apart. Suddenly, it's the front kick, it lands square and KO's Couture. it's shades of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort. The same kick, same result.

Winner: Lyoto Machida via KO, Rd. 2 (1:05)

Machida: "It is an honor to fight this guy. He is a hero."
Couture: "No, you're not going to see me again. This is it."

[Boanerges]

4/30/2011 10:38 PM ET By Mike Chiappetta MMA Writer

TORONTO -- This is the UFC 129 live blog for Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick, a featherweight bout on tonight's pay-per-view at the Rogers Centre.

Aldo (18-1) is making his UFC debut after successful WEC featherweight title defenses last year against Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan. Hominick (20-8) has won his last five fights and earned a title shot by stopping George Roop in January.

Round 1: Aldo coming out with fire early, big uppercut, a series of leg kicks, one of which knocks Hominick off balance. Aldo's next kick is caught and he loses his balance and falls down, but Hominick doesn't follow him to the ground. Aldo drives in and completes a takedown. Hominick throws up an arm bar but Aldo pulls free. Aldo stands in Hominick's guard and throws short elbows and right hands. He briefly traps Hominick against the cage. Hominick tries to get space but Aldo re-positions him there. Big overhand right from Aldo as Hominick can't escape. Ref John McCarthy stands them up with :30 left. Aldo shoots again seconds later and takes him down. Round one to Aldo, 10-9.

Round 2: Hominick tries to set an early pace, coming forward, emphasizing the left hook to the head and body. Hominick's face is marked up and he's bleeding from the nose. Hominick stuffs a pair of takedown tries. Hominick's jab starts finding a home. Aldo ducks low and takes him down two minutes in. Hominick does a good job defending. Occasionally, Aldo sneaks a shot in. Crowd grows restless with their hometown boy on the bottom and McCarthy stands them up. Aldo with another takedown with :45 left. He grinds his elbow into Hominick's face, but he doesn't score offensively. Close round, Aldo 10-9.

Round 3: Hominick triples up on the jab and lands early. Aldo has lost a bit of steam from early on. He had a rough weight cut yesterday and may be feeling its effects. After Hominick scores with a right, Aldo responds with a combo, nearly taking Hominick off his feet with a leg kick. Aldo hurt Hominick with a right elbow followed by a left behind the ear. Hominick went down and Aldo jumped on him to finish. Hominick stayed composed and regained guard. There's still over a minute left. Aldo couldn't generate anything huge but takes the round again, 10-9.

Round 4: Aldo with a straight right hand that knocked Hominick backwards. The challenger recovers quickly and they trade. A low blow causes a timeout and warning from the referee. Nearly midway through the round, Aldo connects another power right hand, knocking Hominick to the ground again. Hominick has a huge hematoma above his right eye. Aldo manhandles him to the cage and rains elbows and strikes. The hematoma seems to grow with every strike. WIth about 30 seconds left, McCarthy calls time to have it checked. The doctor says he's OK to fight and we continue. This thing is quite literally the size of a golf ball. Aldo takes him down again with a few seconds left and cruises out the round. Another one for Aldo.

Round 5: The two touches gloves to start the final round. An Aldo left hook lands hard. Then an uppercut. Hominick turns the tables on him with a takedown. He needs a finish. Hominick lands a big left hand. The Rogers Centre explodes, trying to rally behind him. Another one from the top. This kid is going after it. Hammerfist from the top. Strikes, elbows, body shots. He's throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Aldo. Hominick looks up to check the time: 90 seconds left. More left hands. This is one-sided now. Aldo is just trying to survive. He is gassed but covering up. What guts by Hominick. Am amazing rally. Time running out now. He's not going to finish. It's 10-8, but it might not be enough.

Winner: Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (48-45, 48-46, 49-46)

[Boanerges]

4/30/2011 11:35 PM ET By Mike Chiappetta MMA Writer

TORONTO -- This is the UFC 129 live blog for Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields, the main event of tonight's pay-per-view at the Rogers Centre.

St-Pierre (21-2), who is making his sixth consecutive welterweight defense, defeated Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck last year. Shields (26-4-1) has won his last 15 fights and won his UFC debut last October in a split decision against Martin Kampmann.

Herb Dean will referee the main event. Shields gets the mandatory boos during his introduction. The fans do their best to drown out Bruce Buffer as he announces GSP, but the sound system is booming, and he's easily heard. It's still an amazing roar from 55,000+.

Round 1: Shields stalks GSP around. St. Pierre lands a kick, but Shields catches it. St. Pierre hops around on one foot and frees himself. They clinch against the cage, but break. St. Pierre keeping a low stance. He scores with a jab, then a back kick to the body. St. Pierre hurt Shields with a jab that sent him sprawling backwards. Shields catches another kick, but can't pull GSP down. A St. Pierre hook lands with :45 left. St. Pierre getting comfortable now, and scores with an overhand right as the round ends. All standup round, and it's GSP's, 10-9.

Round 2: This is strangely settling into a kickboxing match. Not surprisingly, that favors the champion, whose jab continues to find a home. A hard overhand right buckles Shields, who isn't having much luck landing anything. A right behind the ear for GSP midway thru rattles Shields again. Shields tries to clinch, but St. Pierre shrugs him off easily. The overhand right seems to be GSP's weapon of choice tonite. Shields has little for him so far. St. Pierre, 10-9.

Round 3: Shields is starting to look frustrated as GSP's keeps him away with jabs and overhands from the outside. The champ lands a right hand, and Shields ducks low for a shot, which is promptly stuffed. Shields' strategy is a bit perplexing here. He's usually tenacious on the takedown tries. Here he's fairly content staying on the outside. St. Pierre dumps Shields to the ground with :20 left to a big pop. With little time to work, nothing of note is landed but it's another round for GSP, 10-9.

Round 4: St. Pierre takes Shields down early, lands an elbow, then pulls out and back to his feet. Maybe sending a message. Shields is flummoxed. St. Pierre lands a head kick that downs Shields. He looks to follow him but Shields tries to reverse. St. Pierre pulls free and we restart standing. Shields taunts St. Pierre, trying to goad him forward. GSP continues in his businesslike manner. This isn't the most action-packed fight in the world, that's for sure. St. Pierre and Shields both have bloodied noses, but not too marked up after 20 minutes of action. St. Pierre, 10-9.

Round 5: Shields chases the champ around early. St. Pierre lands a superman punch and Shields backs away. Another overhand right from St. Pierre. It's hard to figure out what exactly Shields' game plan was tonight. Sure St. Pierre is difficult to take down, but he rarely tried and didn't exactly come out here to take the belt by force. He is usually doggedly determined. We haven't seen that Shields. St. Pierre's jab and overhand are his go-to shots today, but he's only hurt Shields once, with the head kick. Well, it took 34 minutes, but this crowd has begun to turn on them, with some whistles and boos. It's going to be another win for St. Pierre, but it's not necessarily one for the highlight reel. The crowd tries to rally them to the finish. Another round for GSP, 10-9. He's won 35 rounds in a row, and he's still the champ.

Winner: Georges St. Pierre via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)

So much for that "35 rounds in a row" comment, as two judges scored two rounds for Shields.

After the fight, St. Pierre says his eye got scratched in the second round and he can't see. He says he needs to go to the hospital to get it checked out right after this. He's asked about the potential superfight with Anderson Silva, but won't commit to it, saying he'll have to figure it out, as it would change the course of his career.

[Boanerges]

Mark Hominick after his fight with Jose Aldo. Dude took a beating but kept fighting hard and never quit. My hat goes off to this dude

[mainbutter]

Anyone else catch the MacDonald/Diaz prelim fight? AWESOME! Rory is a beast.

Also, sadface for Couture. I hope he continues to be active with the sport outside of the cage.

[mainbutter]

Here's my picks:

GSP defeats Jake Sheilds by submission - guillotine
Jose Aldo defeats Mark Hominick by knockout - punch
Vladimir Matyushenko defeats Jason Brilz by TKO
Randy Couture defeats Lyoto Machida via unanimous decision 29-28
Ben Henderson defeats Mark Bocek by knockout - head kick

Well I was 4 for 5 on winners, and of those I went 1 for 4 on method, and frankly Aldo would have gotten the knockout if Hominick didn't have an iron chin, that dude can take a ridiculous amount of punishment and KEEP COMING.

[knox]

My favorite fight was seeing that cocky Diaz get thrown around the ring.

Nick and Nate are great fighters, but I can't stand the way they taunt people. I understand it's a strategy, to get opponents to come in out of anger, but they are punks.

Rory MacDonald seems to be a class act.

[frenchy]

Great fights very sad about randy as I trained w him w I was in high school always been a couturefan but at 47 fighting guyswho are 15 to 25 yeRs younger will take its toll thnaks for,alll,thegreat,years u will be missed

I love gsp as he picks people apart but he needs some knock out powerkoscheck couldnt finish sheliids no finush come,on gsp

[Keyboard Warrior]

I only got a chance to watch the Machida fight. I was filled with awe and sadness. Happy that Machida's back, but having a few teeth knocked out from a front kick like that is no way to retire.