Maybe we all got caught up in the expectations. A lot of MMA fans (including myself) were hoping for some legendary battle between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields on Saturday night.
We didn’t get that, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I think, upon second viewing, people will appreciate it more because they know what to expect.
St. Pierre and Shields fought for nearly 25 minutes on their feet en route to St. Pierre earning a unanimous decision in front of 55,000 fans in Toronto at UFC 129.
Scores were 50-45, 48-47 (twice) for the welterweight champion of the world. I had it 49-47 for St. Pierre.
I haven’t seen anybody state Shields actually won the fight, but you have to admit he flustered St. Pierre as both men were unable to do what they normally do. All the rage on Twitter was about how slow Shields was (and he was), but few mentioned that GSP really wasn’t able to inflict any damage on the slower Shields.
Shields fought too much from the stand up. It’s not his game, and it certainly wasn’t going to get him a victory Saturday. But it’s what he felt was best because he knew about how great of takedown defense St. Pierre has. It was clear, too, that whenever Shields tried to take GSP down, it was futile attempt.
However, the stand up actually did give Shields some success as he was able land enough shots to do some serious damage to St. Pierre’s left eye. GSP was bloodied at the final bell, while Shields looked OK. However, no doubt St. Pierre won the bout.
St. Pierre won the bout with his jab. He landed some stiff power jabs that rocked Shields, and I think made Shields rethink about taking an aggressive approach to the bout. GSP also landed a nice head kick. Definitely had the flashier (and ultimate, more effective) offense in this one.
I gave GSP the first three rounds. Scored the fourth 10-10, and Shields easily took home the fifth. So my third-round submission victory for Shields didn’t happen, but a solid (if not unspectacular) effort.
- One front kick ended the career of Randy Couture. Lyoto Machida landed a front kick in the second minute of the second round and that was it. It was a highlight-reel KO, no doubt about it. Disappointing to see Couture go out like that. But what made it OK was Couture getting back up, feeling fine and thanking the fans for everything. Couture announced his retirement after the bout.
We didn’t get that, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I think, upon second viewing, people will appreciate it more because they know what to expect.
St. Pierre and Shields fought for nearly 25 minutes on their feet en route to St. Pierre earning a unanimous decision in front of 55,000 fans in Toronto at UFC 129.
Scores were 50-45, 48-47 (twice) for the welterweight champion of the world. I had it 49-47 for St. Pierre.
I haven’t seen anybody state Shields actually won the fight, but you have to admit he flustered St. Pierre as both men were unable to do what they normally do. All the rage on Twitter was about how slow Shields was (and he was), but few mentioned that GSP really wasn’t able to inflict any damage on the slower Shields.
Shields fought too much from the stand up. It’s not his game, and it certainly wasn’t going to get him a victory Saturday. But it’s what he felt was best because he knew about how great of takedown defense St. Pierre has. It was clear, too, that whenever Shields tried to take GSP down, it was futile attempt.
However, the stand up actually did give Shields some success as he was able land enough shots to do some serious damage to St. Pierre’s left eye. GSP was bloodied at the final bell, while Shields looked OK. However, no doubt St. Pierre won the bout.
I gave GSP the first three rounds. Scored the fourth 10-10, and Shields easily took home the fifth. So my third-round submission victory for Shields didn’t happen, but a solid (if not unspectacular) effort.
- One front kick ended the career of Randy Couture. Lyoto Machida landed a front kick in the second minute of the second round and that was it. It was a highlight-reel KO, no doubt about it. Disappointing to see Couture go out like that. But what made it OK was Couture getting back up, feeling fine and thanking the fans for everything. Couture announced his retirement after the bout.
No comments:
Post a Comment