UFC 129 - Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Jake Shields

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Main Card

* Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre © vs. Jake Shields

* Featherweight Championship bout: José Aldo © vs. Mark Hominick

* Light Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida

* Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson

Preliminary Card

* Welterweight bout: Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald

* Welterweight bout: Sean Pierson vs. Brian Foster

* Featherweight bout: Yves Jabouin vs. Pablo Garza

* Welterweight bout: Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts

* Bantamweight bout: Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia

* Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen

* Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson

Grand Master

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I don't know what to think about this fight. It isn't my cup of tea but there aren't many guys in the UFC roster at LHW that can compete at the Machida level is (or used to be). Bader and Jones are tied up in their fight and they probably don't want to do Thiago Silva vs Machida again...

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Shields is drinking his own Kool-Aid. He just go back to MW. If he hasn't put his cutting issues behind him, GSP will have no trouble in smashing him for 5 straight rounds since he has no discernible stand-up at all.

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UFC Hall of Famer Randy "The Natural" Couture's career seemed all but over, as he has publicly indicated on several occasions over the past few months that he would be focusing more on his acting career than his fighting career from here on out, unless an unlikely title shot against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua or an otherwise intriguing bout presented itself in the near future.

MMA fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when it was announced following UFC 125 that Couture would be returning to the cage for at least one more battle, against one of his most desired opponents in Lyoto Machida.

"There's really only one or two fights that I wanted; that I would consider stepping back in there," Couture recently told MMA:30. "Lyoto was definitely one of those. Style-wise the two guys I've been watching and see myself matching up against was Lyoto or 'Shogun.' I didn't really see them giving me a title shot right out of the gate."

Couture has expressed his interest in fighting the Brazilian karateka for some time now, and he believes that his gritty, tactical approach to fighting makes him a dangerous opponent for "The Dragon."

"You have to get to him for sure," said "The Natural." "You have to be able to cut him off and I obviously like to use the fence and the barrier. I think you saw what 'Shogun' did both times he fought him. I thought he won the first fight too, although it was very, very close."

He added, "I think my style in general is going to be interesting. He is that Rubik's Cube, you gotta kind of figure him out, get all the colors to match."

Along with Machida, current champ "Shogun" Rua resides squarely at the top of Couture's wish list. "The Natural" told MMA:30 that he is willing to stick around for a shot at Rua after the Machida bout, provided he emerge the victor and Rua holds on to his belt after fighting Rashad Evans this spring.

"I am interested in fighting 'Shogun,' if he retains the title; that's icing on the cake," said Couture. "He's got his hands full with Rashad, no question about that. We'll see how that fight comes out, and we'll make a decision then, if it becomes a reality."

Retiring champion would provide a storybook ending to Couture's legendary career, and it's a scenario that he isn't afraid to say he would like to see play out.

In his words: "That would be a nice way to go."

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Lots of awesome bouts in the works for UFC 129. The wiki says GSP vs Shields is confirmed but I don't see it on the UFC website. Either way, I still think should move up to MW. If GSP moved up to MW and ended up smashing Shields, the GSP vs Silva superfight would be even closer and would dwarf every previous MMA event ever.

  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

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UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will fight in Toronto.

UFC officials today announced on this week's edition of "UFC Ultimate Insider" that the WEC's final 145-pound champion will make his octagon debut at UFC 129, which takes place April 30 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Aldo will face an opponent yet to be determined, though UFC president Dana White recently announced that if Mark Hominick is victorious at Saturday's UFC Fight Night 23 event, the Canadian slugger will earn the slot.

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UFC 129 is headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and top contender Jake Shields.

In addition to the announced appearance by Aldo, UFC brass also officially added four more fights to the card: Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill, Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson, Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen and Brian Foster vs. Sean Pierson.

All four fights were previously reported for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Aldo (18-1 MMA, 8-0 WEC) debuted for the WEC in June 2008 with a second-round TKO win over Shooto legend Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira.

Following five consecutive knockout wins to open his WEC run including three in the first round Aldo was granted a title shot against then-champion Mike Brown. Aldo halted Brown with strikes in the second round. Aldo then defended his belt twice with wins over Manny Gamburyan and Urijah Faber and is currently considered among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Aldo was expected to defend his belt for the first time at UFC 125, but injury forced the Brazilian to delay his octagon debut until April.

Davis (8-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion for Penn State, has made a smooth transition since his pro MMA debut in 2008. After signing with the UFC in early 2010, he extended his undefeated streak with decision wins over Brian Stann and Rodney Wallace and submission victories over Alexander Gustafsson and Tim Boetsch.

He now meets tested UFC veteran Hamill (10-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who enters the fight with a five-fight win streak. Although the streak includes a questionable DQ win over Jon Jones, his wins over Reese Andy, Mark Munoz, Keith Jardine and, most recently, Tito Ortiz came in much more decisive fashion.

Hamill, a cast member from "The Ultimate Fighter 3" and three-time NCAA Division III national champ, has only lost to former champ Rich Franklin and contender Michael Bisping during his career.

This past month at the promotion-ending WEC 53 card, Henderson (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision and lost his belt to Anthony Pettis. The defeat snapped a 10-fight win streak, which included a title win over Jamie Varner and a successful title defense over Donald Cerrone.

Bocek (9-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), meanwhile, looks for his fifth win in his past six UFC fights. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt's lone trip-up came to lightweight contender Jim Miller. Submission wins, meanwhile, have come over Alvin Robinson, David Bielkheden, Joe Brammer and Dustin Hazelett. The past two wins earned "Submission of the Night" bonus checks.

After a four-fight break from the UFC that saw him register three wins, MacDonald (24-14 MMA, 5-6 UFC) returned to the organization this past May at UFC 113, where he suffered a first-round TKO loss to John Salter due to a broken leg. MacDonald has been on the mend since the gruesome injury.

However, his latest UFC stint likely will end unless he's victorious at UFC 129; he lost his past three UFC fights going back to a December 2008 submission loss to Wilson Gouveia. Prior to the recent skid, the 35-year-old Canadian went 5-3 in the UFC with three "Submission of the Night" bonuses and a "KO of the Night" award.

Jensen (15-7 MMA, 2-5 UFC), too, is in his second UFC stint. After going 0-2 with submission losses to Thales Leites and Demian Maia in 2007, the 33-year-old return to the promotion in 2008 and is 2-3 while rotating between wins and losses. The victories have come over Steve Steinbess and Jesse Forbes while the defeats have come to Gouveia, Mark Munoz and Court McGee.

Six of Jensen's seven career losses have come via submission; meanwhile, 18 of MacDonald's 24 victories have come via submission.

After some less-than-cordial banter before the bout, Foster (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) submitted fellow tough guy Matt Brown at UFC 123. The victory, which followed a "Knockout of the Night" performance over Forrest Petz in September, marked his third win in four fights. The H.I.T. Squad fighter now owns stoppages (nine knockouts and six submissions) in all 15 of his career victories.

Pierson (11-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), meanwhile, made a successful UFC debut with a lopsided unanimous-decision win over Matthew Riddle at UFC 124. The victory extended the 11-year vet's current win streak to six.

After the fight, the Canadian was suspended from police training in Canada because officials felt his second job and nickname ("Pimp Daddy") would interfere with police duties. The would-be Toronto cop now fights professionally full-time.

[x]

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Grand Master

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UFC Hall of Famer and multiple-time, dual-division champion Randy "The Natural" Couture is going to fight fellow former champ Lyoto Machida late next month at UFC 129, and there is a solid possibility that it will be the last time that the 47-year old fan favorite goes to work in the cage.

Couture recently appeared on the ESPN UFC Podcast to discuss his impending bout with Machida and he also revealed his likely plans to hang up the gloves after the fight in order to relax and focus on other, less demanding pursuits.

"There's a big chance this is my last fight," Couture said. "I'm not going to be making any official announcements, I don't think anybody would buy it - I already did that once! But I'm in terrific shape, I'm feeling confident about Lyoto and dialling into the attack and how we're going to get our hands on him. There's a lot of other things calling me now, and there's a chance this is the last one. I've got several other movies lined up, The Expendables 2 is coming up in September, and I've got my other businesses like the clothing company and the extension of the gym.

"Frankly, I'm tired of grinding it out, it's time to enjoy life."

There has been talk of Couture going for the title one last time should he defeat Machida in April, but "The Natural" honestly told ESPN that current champ Jonny "Bones" Jones may pose more challenges than he is willing to try to overcome at in the autumn phase of his career.

"He's got a ton of great tools, he's very very impressive to watch," Couture said in reference to Jones. "Anytime I'm facing a guy with a wrestling background, which he has got, it makes for a much tougher fight for me. It tends to cancel out my strength, which is my own wrestling background, and then you get down to the other stuff.

"I don't know if that's the kind of battle that I need in this stage of my life, and it would definitely be a battle."

Couture and Machida square off at UFC 129: St. Pierre vs. Shields on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Grand Master

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Couture should have quit long ago.

Talk about beating a dead horse.

Couture is still a better fighter at 47 than most guys half his age. Don't forget he made his MMA debut at 34, an age at which many MMA fighters are already past their prime, and went on to beat prime Liddell. The Machida fight will serve is purpose: either Couture wins, remains relevant and continues to draw fans in or he gets Machida back "over" (which he badly needs now, due to his last 3 fights being what they were).

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