UFC 129 Review

I haven't covered Mixed Martial Arts yet in this blog, but I'm a huge fan. I grew up as a boxing fan, and have transitioned that love to MMA. Thanks to the generosity of my father ( I was in Iowa this weekend) I was able to watch UFC 129, and it was a great card. I know I'm a couple of days late, but sue me, I've been busy. Here are my highlights and lowlights:

Undercard:
Just a couple of things to hit on;

• Ivan Menjivar putting his elbow through Charlie Valencia's nose was sweet, and a perfect example of why more elbows need to be thrown at close distance. Doesn't seem like enough fighters utilize the technique.
• Pablo Garza and Yves Jabouin was an awesome fight! Jabouin is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport on his feet, and he was demonstrating that again Saturday night. Then, Garza pulls a flying triangle out of his rear end, and finishes the fight with probably the most exciting submission of the year so far.
• Nate Diaz losing to Rory MacDonald really surprised me. I've always thought that Diaz, because of his size and awkward, classic Diaz style would be a tough contender for the belt at either 155 or 170, but this loss sets him back quite a bit.

Main Card

• I thought Ben Henderson was the most impressive fighter of the night. His opponent Mark Bocek is an extremely tough dude, and with Henderson coming off a very tough loss in his last fight in the WEC, I thought he might be in trouble. However, his game looked more well rounded, and he was fighting HARD. My only criticism is, he still continues to find himself in serious trouble in almost every single fight, something he will have to avoid and he faces tougher UFC competition.
• Not much to say on Vladmir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz. It was a very impressive finish for Matyushenko, which is saying something because that dude never finishes fights. All in all though, doesn't mean much for the light heavyweight division.
• Lyoto Machida kicking Randy Couture's tooth down his throat was the highlight of the night. Ultimately though, it was a much needed win for Machida, against an opponent who I don't think had much interest in being in there. I think Randy had decided awhile ago to hang them up, and although he looked game, I'm not sure his heart was in it. What a fantastic ambassador for the sport and a great career, despite the odd record of 19-11. I've always felt Machida was maybe the most impressive fighter in the UFC when he plays his game. In two fights with Shogun, and then Rampage he decided not to dictate the fights. If he is able to harness that ability, I think he wins the belt again.
• Jose Aldo retained his belt, but Mark Hominick was more impressive. There's no doubt that Aldo won the fight, but how can you not come out of that fight loving Hominick. He's absolutely busted up, and just continued to stand and fire, take more punishment and just keep coming. Aldo is supremely skilled, but whether he was sick (as his camp says) or had too tough of a weight cut, his gas tank let him down. That is an area he'll have to correct against Chad Mendes, his next fight. I think he'll beat him, but Mendes has cardio for days, so Aldo better be ready.
• The Main Event, Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields. What can I say, I've long been a big supporter of GSP even though he didn't finish fights, and a huge critic of Jake Shields because he's so one dimensional. Coming out of this fight, my opinion of Shields doesn't change much, although his standup looked better, but his gameplan was dumb. He had no chance on the feet, but after two stuffed takedowns, he decided to stop trying, which is ridiculous. St. Pierre however, I don't think I can really defend him anymore. Yes, he had an eye injury, but honestly I do question how serious it was. I feel his vision was compromised, but it wasn't gone. He was so much better than Shields on the feet, and Shields chose to stay there, and GSP showed absolutely no desire to try and finish. GSP threw jabs, looping telegraphed overhand rights, spinning back kicks, and superman jabs. None of which had any chance to finish the fight. No leg kicks, only one high kick, no three punch combinations, none of that. I feel he's mentally weak, I really do. He got hurt, and instead of getting mad, or getting urgent, he got scared and it showed. There's been a lot of speculation what his next fight is, if he moves to fight Anderson Silva, I think he loses badly. If he stays at 170, and Nick Diaz is the guy, I think he can win that fight, but Diaz will kick his ass a lot more than Shields did in the process. GSP has to bring his mental game to the level of his clearly superior physical ability.

One more combat sports note, Manny Pacquaio fight Shane Mosely this weekend, which is a good fight, but not a great fight. Pacquaio is so much better than Mosely at this point, that I think it will be a completely lopsided fight. If after this fight Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Jr. can't get together, boxing is ruined for me.