By this time, you’ve already heard all the superlatives you need to hear about UFC 129.
The card is loaded, the event is going to be epic and if you’re not staring at the clock counting down the minutes until Fight Day hits the airwaves to start your Saturday MMA marathon, there is something wrong with you.
If you’re still hedging your bets about ordering this event or just need another analysis fix to tide you over until the first fight streams live on Facebook, you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s our preview of UFC 129, from the opening bout of the evening to the climactic clash that will end the night, delivered hot and fresh to get your Friday off to a good start.
Yves Jabouin (15-6-0) vs. Pablo Garza (10-1-0)
People might laugh at me, but the fact that this is the opening fight on of the night should be an indication of the awesomeness that will follow. No, I’m not joking; I really like this fight and think it will set the tone for an entertaining evening.
When you see that Jabouin went 1-2 in his three WEC appearances, you don’t get the full picture of what the Canadian actually brought into the little blue cage.
For starters, I had him ahead of Raphael Assuncao on the scorecards in his debut, though two of the three judges thought otherwise. He followed it up by earning Fight of the Night honors with fellow Canuck Mark Hominick at WEC 49 in a bout that should have gotten more Fight of the Year consideration. The two went back-and-forth at full throttle for just over eight minutes.
Jabouin finally got into the win column at WEC 52, earning a unanimous decision win over Brandon Visher, and looks to start a winning streak in front of his fellow countryman in this one.
Garza holds the distinction of being the first featherweight to earn a win in the UFC, and it came on a bad-ass, Knockout of the Night-winning flying knee to the dome of Fredson Paixao back in December. Oh yeah, it took him just 51 seconds.
“The Scarecrow” is a nightmare pairing for anyone in the division because of his size. Standing 6’1″ tall, Garza will have a five-inch height and six-inch reach advantage on Jabouin.
John Makdessi (8-0-0) vs. Kyle Watson (13-6-1)
A product of the Tristar Gym in Montreal, Makdessi made his UFC debut in December and showed no signs of nerves, sweeping the scorecards against Pat “Awesomely Awesome” Audinwood. The win extended the Shotokan Karate black belt’s unbeaten streak to eight.
TUF 12 veteran Watson is the kind of savvy veteran who could give Makdessi problems, which makes this bout intriguing, at least to me. He’s got a solid ground game and the experience to not get flustered if things go astray at any point.
Though he earned a win over Sako Chivitchian at the Season 12 Finale, the lightweight division is so deep that a single loss could bounce a thirtysomething veteran like Watson from the big leagues. Win or lose, expect Watson to leave it all in the cage.
Jason MacDonald (24-14-0) vs. Ryan Jensen (15-7-0)
You’ve gotta be happy to see MacDonald back in the Octagon. He was cut by the UFC following a 5-5 run that ended with back-to-back losses to Wilson Gouveia and Nate Quarry, then broke his leg in the opening round of his bout at UFC 113 against John Salter after taking the fight on short notice.
After a long recovery period and some time in the gym, the Nova Scotia native fighting out of Red Deer, Alberta returns, and faces Jensen in what will probably end up being a “Loser Leaves Town” match.
Last time out, Jensen looked like he was on his way to an upset win over TUF 11 winner Court McGee through the first round. He came out strong, worked good combinations and kept McGee off-balance, but then it all went to pot. Jensen tired, McGee found his range, and the 33-year-old from Omaha eventually tapped to a third-round arm triangle, dropping his record to 2-5 in seven UFC appearances.
If he’s figured out how to manage his cardio and keep up the pace from the first round against McGee, Jensen could keep himself off the unemployment line and get back into the win column, especially since MacDonald is coming off an 11-month layoff. While I’m kind of surprised he’s managed to get another shot, this is surely the last one, so Jensen better make the most of it.
Ivan Menjivar (21-8-0) vs. Charlie Valencia (12-6-0) – Streamed Live on Facebook
In his return to major competition (sorry W-1 MMA) for the first time in four years, Menjivar put on one helluva show opposite Brad Pickett at WEC 53 in December.
The veteran Canadian came out on the wrong side of a unanimous decision, but in the process, he showed why he’s been in the cage with the likes of GSP, Jeff Curran, Urijah Faber, and Joe Lauzon over the years. He should get a chance at an encore performance – and one that people will actually see this time — here, as Valencia is a high motor competitor who should compliment what Menjivar brings to the table nicely.
After nine appearances with the WEC, Valencia makes his UFC debut here and is equal parts excited for the opportunity, but unfazed by the step up to the big stage. At least that’s what he told us earlier in the week before he stepped out in front of 55,000 fans, many of whom will be rooting against him.
Though he’s come out on the losing side of battles with former champions Faber, Brian Bowles and Miguel Torres, as well as current 135-pound champ Dominick Cruz, he’s as scrappy as the come and rarely takes a backwards step.
Don’t be surprised if this one kicks off the night of televised fights in exciting fashion.
Claude Patrick (13-1-0) vs. Daniel “Ninja” Roberts (12-1-0)
We’ve tabbed this tilt as our Under the Radar fight of the night; the contest no one seems to be talking about that we’re dying to see.
What to know why we’re excited about it? Check out the debut of our latest feature, then come back and enjoy the rest of this bad boy.
Sean Pierson (11-4-0) vs. Jake Ellenberger (24-5-0)
I feel bad for Pierson.
After grinding it out over the last decade, he finally gets a chance to fight at home for the first time, on the biggest stage in the sport. Two weeks before the event, his opponent, Brian Foster, can’t get cleared to fight due to hemorrhage in his brain, leaving him twisting in the wind for a day or two.
When the UFC finds a replacement, it’s Ellenberger, a top 20 welterweight riding a three-fight winning streak, which could be four depending on how you saw his UFC debut against Carlos Condit. He knocked Mike Pyle for a loop at UFC 108, made John Howard’s face double in size on the second Versus show, and won a tentative battle against Carlos Eduardo Rocha in February. Not to knock my countryman, but all three of those guys are higher up on the food chain than Brian Foster.
That’s not to say the 35-year-old Toronto native can’t come away with a win this weekend; he’s got good hands and will surely get a boost from 55,000 screaming fans inside the Rogers Centre. Maybe the change is for the better, now that I think of it, because a win over Ellenberger would provide a bigger push up the rankings than beating Foster would have for Pierson.
Either way, the second of the four welterweight bouts on the bill should be a pretty good scrap and a great way to kick off the Spike TV Prelims Live show.
Nate Diaz (13-6-0) vs. Rory MacDonald (10-1-0)
The third straight 170-pound pairing has all kinds of interesting elements to it, at least for me.
Both guys are coming off losses, though they were very different fights. Diaz got grappled to death for the first two rounds of his UFC 125 meeting with Dong Hyun Kim before pouring it on and nearly finishing him in the third. Conversely, MacDonald was up two rounds to none on Carlos Condit at UFC 115 before “The Natural Born Killer” woke up and unleashed on the young Canadian, earning a stoppage with just ten seconds remaining in the contest.
I’m curious to see how both respond to those defeats, as Diaz, like his brother, has voiced his displeasure with the way fights are scored, while the loss was the first of MacDonald’s promising career.
Additionally, this is a chance to gain another measurement of where these two stand within the welterweight division. The 21-year-old form Quesnel, British Columbia got a huge jump up in competition for his second fight, going from “Joker” Guymon to Condit, and now gets Diaz, while “The Kid from Stockton” needs to show what he can do against an future contender, not just fighters who get released after he beats them.
For me — and not just because I’m Canadian – MacDonald is the one to watch here. We know what Diaz brings to the table, and while he’s talented and entertaining, “The Waterboy” is one of the next generation of fighters who has been training MMA his entire career, instead of working from one discipline and adding elements from there. He is the complete package and a fighter you should definitely keep an eye on from here on out.
Can this man dethrone GSP?
Mark Bocek (9-3-0) vs. Ben Henderson (12-2-0)
After earning a very quick and very tidy Submission of the Night victory over Dustin Hazelett at UFC 124, Bocek declared himself the best jiu jitsu player in the 155-pound division. While I don’t necessarily dispute this, George Sotiropoulos might, and this isn’t a jits competition — its MMA. And for the sake of argument, if his ground game is so much better than everyone else, how come he couldn’t put Jim Miller away at UFC 111 when he had his back for four minutes in the second round? He had the arm trapped in his body lock and everything…
Anyway, Bocek will get a chance to continue making his case for bigger fights by welcoming former WEC lightweight champ Ben Henderson to the Octagon for the first time. “Smooth” is a perfect opponent for Bocek to prove his mettle against, as there may not be a lightweight out there with more flexibility and a knack for getting out of tight sub attempts than Henderson.
On the opposite side of the coin, Henderson gets an immediate opportunity to prove the doubters wrong and insert himself into the thick of the lightweight division with a win over Bocek. Critics never gave Henderson or any of the WEC lightweights enough credit in the past, and now that they’ve moved to the UFC, they’ve been proving they belong, and Henderson gets his chance.
While he’s relied much more on his wrestling and grappling over the last three or four fights, don’t be surprised to see Henderson feature his striking a little more in this one. Though he’s comfortable on the ground and has the Gumby-like bendiness mentioned earlier, he also has an advantage over Bocek on the feet.
Winner maintains their main card status and gets a higher profile fight next time out; loser tumbles down the ladder into preliminary card purgatory.
Randy Couture (19-10-0) vs. Lyoto Machida (16-2-0)
As if watching one of the sport’s best strategists (Couture) take on one of the most elusive and hard to figure out fighters in the business (Machida) wasn’t enough, we now know this will be Couture’s curtain call, and that makes it an absolute must-see.
There aren’t enough words to do Couture’s career and impact on the UFC justice; he is one of the true legends of this sport, a UFC Hall of Famer and an icon, and he will be missed. But before he rides off into the sunset — or wherever they’re filming The Expendables 2 – he’ll put his three-fight winning streak and diagnostic skills on the line against Machida.
Couture admitted he turned down a couple different opponents before accepting this bout because he likes the challenge of facing the former light heavyweight champion; I too like the idea of him trying to solve the Machida riddle. While Mauricio Rua showed one (or two) ways to defeat “The Dragon,” Couture can’t go with either of those options, so it will be interesting to see where his gameplan takes him in this one.
This one isn’t all about Couture, though, as Machida has a lot at stake here.
He hasn’t looked overly impressive since “The Machida Era” was ushered in at UFC 98, and officially brings a two-fight losing streak into the cage with him. Fair or not, His counter-striking style and penchant for taking backwards steps puts him at an immediate disadvantage with the judges, and it’s something Machida must consciously work on, especially against someone who likes to get inside like Couture.
I don’t think Machida is in danger of being cut should he lose here; after all, he’s less than a year removed from being light heavyweight champion. That being said, his karma has evened out (“beat” Rua the first time, “lost” to Jackson in November) and now he needs to get back to the winning ways that brought him into the spotlight in the first place.
Vladimir Matyushenko (25-5-0) vs. Jason Brilz (18-3-1)
True story: the placement of this fight in the middle of the main card scares the bejesus out of me. I’m all for quality wrestling matches between two underrated competitors, but on a card laced with high energy fights and a laundry list of fighters people want to see, why do you stick “The Janitor” and Jason Brilz smack dab in the thick of things?
This one goes one of two ways; either we end up with a quality grappling display like we saw when Brilz dropped a shaky split decision to Rogerio Nogueira back at UFC 114, or their wrestling chops cancel each other out and we get an awkward kickboxing match that sucks the life out of the venue formerly known as the SkyDome.
Please let it be the first one, please let it be the first one, please let it be the first one…
Jose Aldo (18-1-0) vs. Mark Hominick (20-8-0)
The only saving grace of sticking Matyushenko and Brilz in the three-hole is that these two featherweight firecrackers will come into the cage after them and set the place on fire.
Aldo is arguably the most consistently entertaining and exciting fighter in the sport; he’s riding an 11-fight winning streak and earned seven stoppages in eight WEC fights, including the still awesome eight-second double flying knee to the face of Cub Swanson at WEC 41.
The 145-pound champ has cut through Manny Gamburyan and Mike Brown, and cut down Urijah Faber in his featherweight farewell. He’s universally recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound competitors in the sport, and now gets to show his skills off on the big stage, in front of the second-biggest crowd in MMA history.
Then you’ve got Hominick, a ten-year Canadian vet getting to fight in his home province for the first time, and for a world title no less. His story is the thing of Hollywood movies, but his skills in the cage are just as noteworthy.
As he’s said in the build-up to this fight, Hominick is the best striker Aldo has faced, a long-time Shawn Tompkins student with fast, forceful hands and very good kickboxing. He’s underrated on the ground as well, and while we hear Aldo has a slick ground game too, we haven’t seen it yet, and Hominick has the skills to test him if the fight goes to the floor.
Both guys are non-stop from the start and should deliver some serious entertainment in this one.
Georges St. Pierre (21-2-0) vs. Jake Shields (26-4-1)
I honestly can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this fight; I don’t have the words, and that’s saying something for a yappy guy like me.
Beyond fighting for the belt, both St. Pierre and Shields are fighting for their legacies, though they’re somewhat different.
GSP is accepted as the best welterweight on the planet and one of the best in the sport today, along with being on a short list of contenders to be crowned the greatest of all-time. He’s had so few troubles over the last three years that many people expect to see him breeze through Shields, leaving the welterweight division completely cleaned out in the process.
For Shields, this is his opportunity to prove to everyone that he is the best 170-pound fighter in the sport today, and equally deserving of the accolades being bestowed upon St. Pierre. After all, it’s Shields, not St. Pierre, who brings a 15-fight winning streak that spans six years into the Octagon on Saturday night, a streak that includes a stretch as the Strikeforce middleweight champion with wins over Robbie Lawler and the organization’s current light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson.
There really hasn’t been a fight that better exemplifies the UFC vacuum factor than this one. The above makes the fight something any fight fans should be interested in seeing; the fact that it takes place in front of 55,000 fans on Canadian soil ups the ante and brings it to “you can’t call yourself an MMA fan if you miss this fight” status.
This fight and this entire card are going to be awesome, not to mention historic.
You’ll kick yourself in the ass if you miss it, so don’t miss it.
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