UFC 129 was the other night and aside from a stinker of a main event between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields, was one of the best cards all the way through in a long, long time. Lyoto Machida brutally finished Randy Couture's career with a crane kick to the jaw that sent teeth flying from the Natural's mouth. Jose Aldo put a massive hematoma on Mark Hominick's skull and then survived a massive beatdown in the fifth round to keep his UFC Featherweight Title. In the opening fight, Ben Henderson became my favorite fighter in the 155 lb division after his exciting decision win over Mark Bocek. GSP put on a weak boxing exhibition and was actually outstruck by the flatfooted and awkward Jake Shields. More on all this once we break down each fighter and what he should be up to next.
Ben Henderson: Bendo showed a lot of tenacity in overcoming Bocek's takedowns and responding with violent flurries of punches and knees. Although he didn't get the finish, he certainly threw down a fast paced beating and showed he can hold his own with at least the middle of the pack at 155. I would like to see him up against Jim Miller or the loser of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard to see where he stacks up amongst the elite of the division.
Vladimir Matyushenko: Pardon the pun, but the Janitor mopped the floor with Jason Brilz, flooring him in about 20 seconds. A solid middle of the pack light heavyweight and 40 years old, Vlad is in no way going to ever be close to a title shot. A match with Stephan Bonnar would be a decent scrap between two men in roughly the same caliber and ranking. If Zuffa wanted to get nostalgic, it could put him up against Tito Ortiz in a rematch of their title fight from UFC 33 or against Little Nog, who he KOed in 2006.
Randy Couture: Retirement, and a dentist. Machida kicked out two of his teeth, one of which was on the opposite side of his face from where he was kicked. Randy, despite getting beaten severly, should be commended for even accepting this fight. Machida is one of the best in the world at 205 and is easily one of, if not THE, best fighter Randy has gone up against. Other fighters have avoided Machida like the plague, but Randy stepped up and took the challenge. Not the best finish to a career, but nothing to be ashamed of either.
Lyoto Machida: Machida put up one of the most vicious knockouts ever with his crane kick on Couture. I think that Lyoto stands the best chance of challenging and defeating Jon Jones, but he is still at least one win away from a title shot. His unorthodox striking and angles, as well as his underrated grappling and unrelenting patience could stymie Jones much more than Rashad Evans' or Rampage Jackson's styles. I would put him up against the winner of UFC 133's Rashad Evans-Phil Davis match, with that person facing the victor of Jon Jones and Rampage Jackson (presuming Rampage beats Matt Hamill at the end of the month).
Jose Aldo, Jr: Dana White has already announced that Chad "Money" Mendes is the next challenger for the 145 lb title, so that one is set in stone. Hopefully Jose will put on a better performance than he did in this fight, where he gassed early and showed some signs of ring rust, although this may have been part of a rumored illness he was suffering from. The thing about this fight that baffled me was that Aldo went away from the leg kicks after devastating Hominick with them in the first round. If he had continued to use them, I'm certain Aldo would have finished him by the third or fourth round. Despite this, he probably still should have gotten a doctor stoppage for the basketball sized bruise he put on Hominick's head. Hopefully in his next defense, he can show UFC fans why he is regarded so highly.
Jake Shields: Boxing lessons. I forgot how painful it is to watch Jake Shields stand and strike. His feet are flat, his back is rigid, and there is absolutely no power coming from his hands. Absolutely dreadful. He should have been destroyed by GSP, but St. Pierre suffered a minor eye injury and basically stopped fighting. In two fights in the UFC, Shields has yet to show why his signing there was such a major coup for Dana White. Putting him up against Jon Fitch would provide him a chance to show his grappling skills against one of the two other best wrestlers in the UFC. It would also provide me a card to skip so I don't have to watch either man bore me to tears. Seriously though, a match with Jon Fitch or maybe Diego Sanchez (once he is done with Matt Hughes) could work to his strengths.
Georges St. Pierre: Not since Anderson Silva decided to make a mockery of Damien Maia has a man lost so much in victory. GSP put up a real stinker of a performance in this fight. He apparently suffered an eye injury from an eye poke in the second round and basically coasted after that. His stand up, which has always been at worst effective, was able to be evaded by the striking inept Shields. Between rounds, GSP was panicking about his eye to the point that the fight just should have been stopped if it was that hard for him to do anything. More than anything, this fight convinced me that Georges has no business moving up and challenging Anderson Silva, as Silva would annihilate the St. Pierre that showed up in this fight. Silva preys on weakness and this was the weakest I have ever seen GSP. This was about more than not finishing a fight. This was about basically giving up and looking to merely survive against an opponent that couldn't have done anything even if Georges stuck his chin right out for Shields to blast. If Anderson saw someone so weak, he would punt his head clean off his shoulders. Anderson had broken ribs against Chael Sonnen and continued to go at it, culminating in a submission victory. I don't know that GSP has that fortitude. Since losing to Serra, Georges has seemed to lose that killer instinct that he possessed when he ran roughshod over the welterweight division. He fights not to lose more than he does to win. This has only been exacerbated by giving him inferior challengers that pose no real threat to him. That is why he should fight the Strikeforce Welterweight Champ Nick Diaz. Diaz is a tough hombre and he won't let GSP coast at any point in a fight. Nick would bring out the best in GSP because he doesn't let up, has strong boxing, and can work off his back. His intensity and taunting would force Georges to either fight to finish like he did against Matt Serra, or lose. There's no way he could coast against Diaz. Nick just doesn't roll like that. At this point in his career, GSP needs that kind of opponent more than ever, a man who can truly bring out the best in him and can test his mettle.
I'll probably write more on this topic, plus Anderson Silva at some other point in time. In the meantime, if you saw the show and have any thoughts on it, please share.
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