The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its long-awaited debut at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada tonight for UFC 129: “St. Pierre vs Shields.” The card was headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and jiu-jitsu expert Jake Shields.
Newly-crowned UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo made the first defence of his title in the co-main event against Ontario’s own Mark “The Machine” Hominick, while Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida faced Randy “The Natural” Couture. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
UFC Welterweight Championship
Georges “Rush” St. Pierre vs Jake Shields
Round 1:
Shields opened the fight with two kicks, but was sent off-balance by a counter left hook. The fighters exchanged jabs and more kicks as the crowd began to chant. Shields caught a kick and backed St. Pierre up to the fence. St. Pierre remained on his feet and Shields kneed his leg. St. Pierre reversed the clinch and backed away. Shields jabbed again and avoided a spinning back kick. Jabs landed for both fighters again and St. Pierre missed with a combination and another spinning back kick.
Shields threw more kicks and St. Pierre answered with a right hook over the top. Shields began to bleed from the nose, but landed a body kick. A powerful jab sent Shields to the ground, and he forced Shields to retreat after another jab seconds later. Shields looked to clinch and St. Pierre punched free. Shields came up short with his jab, but St. Pierre landed a series of his own and followed with another overhand right. 10-9 St. Pierre.
Round 2:
The fighters resumed jabbing in the second round and both landed right hooks. Shields threw cautious leg kicks, but St. Pierre put more force behind his and landed a looping overhand right. Another right landed for St. Pierre, and he staggered Shields with a third soon after. Shields regained his composure and landed a body kick. He narrow avoided a looping right, which quickly became St. Pierre’s go-to attack.
St. Pierre scored with a spinning back kick to the body and Shields clinched. St. Pierre easily shrugged him off, but Shields did manage to land a body kick. Again, St. Pierre easily defended a clinch and connected with a right hook. Shields nearly caught a spinning back kick, but St. Pierre stepped out. He landed a leg kick and avoided a takedown late in the round. 10-9 St. Pierre.
Round 3:
Shields was the aggressor early in round three, but St. Pierre kept him at bay with jabs. He avoided a clinch attempt from Shields and landed two glancing overhand rights. St. Pierre countered a leg kick with a right hook and stuffed a takedown. St. Pierre began to target the body with punches and sidestepped a wild kick from Shields. St. Pierre continued to thwart Shields’s attempts to take the fight to the mat.
Shields shot in for a takedown and missed badly. He stuck to his strategy of jabs and leg kicks, but St. Pierre got the better of the exchanges. Shields landed a body kick and St. Pierre narrowly missed with another of his looping rights. St. Pierre landed a right cross and caught a kick from Shields, but let him go. Shields scored with another body kick, but St. Pierre took him down and punched from the top. 10-9 St. Pierre.
Round 4:
St. Pierre caught a kick from Shields and took him down in the fourth round, but allowed him to stand. Shields landed a right cross and St. Pierre responded with a one-two. He missed with an overhand right, as well as with a second one right after. St. Pierre jabbed and avoided a clinch attempt. Shields avoided a right hook and landed a body kick, but St. Pierre floored him with a head kick.
Shields recovered and grabbed at St. Pierre’s leg. St. Pierre got his leg out and Shields returned to his feet. Shields landed jabs and a right cross to St. Pierre’s swollen left eye, but St. Pierre avoided most of Shields’s strikes. Shields began to taunt and landed a right cross. He began to have more success with his jab and opened a cut on St. Pierre’s nose. St. Pierre answered with an overhand right and another high kick. Close round. 10-9 St. Pierre.
Round 5:
Shields stayed aggressive with punches in the final round and avoided a pair of overhand rights. A third from St. Pierre landed, however, and he wobbled the challenger with two more counter rights. Shields continued to throw kicks to the body and St. Pierre answered with more looping right hands, to varying degrees of success.
Both fighters landed jabs in close and St. Pierre finally threw a Superman Punch. Shields landed more jabs and St. Pierre replied with a leg kick. Shields threw kicks to the body and backed away from a right hook. St. Pierre cut him below the right eye late in the round and the fighters exchanged punches and kicks. Shields stuffed a takedown before the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Shields, barely.
Winner: Georges St. Pierre by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 22-2-0 and remains the UFC Welterweight Champion.
UFC Featherweight Championship
Jose “Scarface” Aldo Junior vs Mark “The Machine” Hominick
Round 1:
Aldo immediately landed an uppercut and a right hook, and followed with a leg kick. He landed another uppercut and a second leg kick as Hominick pushed forward. A left hook to the liver and a leg kick sent Hominick off-balance, but he regained his footing and landed a nice left hook of his own. Aldo scored with another leg kick, but Hominick caught a knee and tripped him to the mat. Aldo continued to land leg kicks as Hominick tried to counter with punches. Aldo fired off yet another leg kick and took Hominick down.
Hominick worked for an armbar from his back and Aldo escaped with elbows. He postured up and punched while pressing Hominick up against the cage. Hominick continued to try to work for triangles as Aldo punched from the top. He mixed in elbows as well and cut Hominick below the right eye. Also kept busy with short punches and elbows, but referee “Big” John McCarthy stood the fighters up. Aldo took Hominick down again and struck from his guard until the bell. Dominant 10-9 round for Aldo. Nearly a 10-8.
Round 2:
Hominick scored with left hooks to the body early in the second round as Aldo seemed to slow down. Aldo landed a leg kick and Hominick stuffed a takedown. Hominick landed a right hook and shrugged off another takedown. He followed with a big right hook and a looping left, and took control of the striking exchanges with jabs. Aldo finally took him down and Hominick worked for a submission.
Aldo elbowed from the top and postured up. He rained down two big punches, but the pace slowed and the fighters were brought back to their feet. Hominick landed a kick to the liver and Aldo countered with a takedown. He landed on top in side control, but did very little with the position until the round came to a close. 10-9 Aldo.
Round 3:
Aldo missed with an uppercut in round three and the fighters traded jabs. Hominick landed a leg kick and Aldo answered with one of his own. A nice lead left hook scored for Hominick, but Aldo ducked under a combination and landed a one-two. Single punches landed for both fighters and Aldo backed Hominick up with a left hook. Hominick stuffed a takedown and landed a hook as he circled out. Aldo landed a left hook, right leg kick combination.
The fighters continued to go punch for punch and Hominick snapped off quick jabs. He scored with a left hook to the body and another jab. Aldo took him down briefly, but Hominick stood and backed away. Hominick returned to his jab and kept out of Aldo’s range. A big right hook dropped Hominick and Aldo pounced with more punches. Hominick regained his senses and tried for an armbar. Aldo punched free and Hominick tried to tie up Aldo’s arm again. Aldo landed short strikes until the bell. 10-9 Aldo.
Round 4:
Hominick jabbed again in round four, but both of his eyes continued to swell up. Aldo hurt him with a right hook, but landed a kick to Hominick’s groin and paused to allow Hominick to recover. Hominick threw more jabs and Aldo countered with a one-two that came up short. Hominick was kicked in the groin again and time was called. The fight resumed and both fighters landed punches. Aldo wobbled Hominick with a right hook and a hard leg kick. Aldo landed a left hook to the liver and a leg kick.
Hominick snapped Aldo’s head back with jabs, but was dropped by a right hook. Aldo swarmed with punches, but Hominick quickly recovered again. A huge welt formed on his forehead, however, and Aldo targeted it with elbows. Hominick’s forehead continued to swell way up and time was called for the doctor to check on him. The fight was allowed to continue and resumed on the feet. Aldo landed a right cross and took Hominick down against the cage. Another dominant 10-9 for Aldo.
Round 5:
Aldo opened the final round with a leg kick and two right hooks. He hurt Hominick with an uppercut, but Hominick took him down. Hominick began to bleed from the cut below his left eye, but he postured up and landed some big punches. The crowd cheered wildly for Hominick’s offence and he continued to land punches with his left hand. More punches scored for Hominick as Aldo struggled to defend.
Hominick kept the pressure on with strikes, to the delight of the record crowd. Aldo finally managed to trap Hominick’s arms momentarily, but Hominick freed himself and punched to the head and body. A big left hand bounced Aldo’s head off of the canvas and he again struggled to defend as Hominick unloaded with punches. Hominick punished Aldo with punches to the head and body, then postured up and dropped a hard left hand. Aldo made it to the bell. 10-9 Hominick, if not a 10-8. Excellent fight.
Judge Douglas Crosby’s scorecard was initially read as a preposterous 50-43 for Aldo, but was corrected to read 48-45 in favour of the champion.
Winner: Jose Aldo Junior by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-45, 48-46) after five rounds. He improves to 19-1-0 and remains the UFC Featherweight Champion.
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida vs Randy “The Natural” Couture
Round 1:
Couture landed a right hook early on, but Machida clipped him with a counter one-two. He staggered briefly, but recovered and landed a nice lead left hook. Machida missed with an uppercut, but landed a quick kick-punch combo. A rapid-fire flurry followed for Machida and he backed away. Machida scored with a right hook and both fighters landed rights at the same time.
Machida once again used a kick-punch combo to keep Couture guessing, then landed a flying knee. He shrugged off a takedown attempt with punches and pushed Couture away. Machida landed a combination and defended another takedown. He circled out of a clinch and landed a hard kick to the body. Another jumping knee landed for Machida before the bell. 10-9 Machida.
Round 2:
Machida rocked Couture with a left cross early in round two and sprawled out of a takedown. Couture quickly recovered and got back to his feet. Machida then crushed Couture with a jumping front kick to the face. Couture fell in a heap and the fight was stopped.
After the fight, Couture announced his retirement from the sport.
Winner: Lyoto Machida by KO (Jumping Front Kick) at 1:05 of round two. He improves to 17-2-0.
Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko vs Jason “The Hitman” Brilz
Round 1:
After an early exchange, Matyushenko dropped Brilz with a vicious right cross, left hook counter. Brilz crumpled to the mat and Matyushenko unloaded with hammerfists until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight. Brilz woke up and protested the stoppage, but he was clearly unconscious after the third hammerfist strike.
Winner: Vladimir Matyushenko by KO (Punches) at 0:20 of round one. He improves to 26-5-0.
Ben “Smooth” Henderson vs Mark Bocek
Round 1:
Bocek landed a right cross to open the fight and clinched against the cage, but Henderson reversed. Both fighters landed knees to the body as they battled for position and takedowns. Referee Yves Lavigne separated them and Bocek landed another right cross. He clinched once again and Henderson reversed once more. He backed away with an elbow and Bocek followed.
Henderson countered a leg kick with a quick combination and followed with a one-two and a leg kick. Bocek connected with another right cross, but Henderson began to take control of the striking exchanges with varied attacks. Bocek grabbed a leg, but Henderson hopped on one foot and punched with both hands. Bocek eventually got him down and kept the fight on the mat. Henderson landed elbows from the bottom. 10-9 Henderson, despite the takedown.
Round 2:
Henderson scored with a body kick in round two and sidestepped a counter one-two. He flurried with punches and Bocek tied him up in a clinch. Bocek took Henderson down and both fighters looked for guillotine chokes before returning to their feet. Henderson kneed Bocek’s legs and scored with another to the face. The fighters were again separated for no apparent reason and this time Henderson took Bocek down. Bocek tried for an omoplata from the bottom and Henderson stood up to escape.
Bocek latched onto his leg and attempted to sweep, but Henderson used hammerfists to escape and the fight returned to the feet. Bocek used a front headlock to drag Henderson down to the mat. He switched to a Brabo Choke, but Henderson worked free. Bocek then moved into a guillotine choke and pulled guard, but Henderson scrambled and stood. He bloodied Bocek with knees and elbows in close. More knees and hard punches scored for Henderson as Bocek bled from the top of the head. 10-9 Henderson due to the late rally.
Round 3:
Bocek took the fight to the ground in the final round and worked from Henderson’s full guard. Henderson tried for a triangle choke as Bocek threw short hammerfists. Henderson used an armbar to sweep and stood over Bocek. He scored with some nice right hands that bounced Bocek’s head off of the canvas. Bocek secured a calf slicer and took Henderson’s back, but let it go and stood up in search of a rear-naked choke.
Henderson got out and the fighters battled in a clinch. Bocek nearly tripped Henderson to the mat, but Henderson stayed on his feet. Bocek dove in again, but Henderson stuffed the takedown and made Bocek pay with knees to the face and body. Bocek finally got him down and moved to half-guard. He transitioned to a front headlock, but Henderson scrambled up and scored with knees until the bell. 10-9 Henderson.
Winner: Ben Henderson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 13-2-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)