Main Card Bouts:
(C)Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (21-2-0) vs Jake Shields (26-4-1)
(C)Jose "Scarface" Aldo (18-1-0) vs Mark "The Machine" Hominick (20-8-0)
Randy "The Natural" Couture (19-10-0) vs Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida (16-2-0)
Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko (25-5-0) vs Jason "The Hitman" Brilz (18-3-1)
Benson "Smooth" Henderson (12-2-0) vs Mark Bocek (9-3-0)
(C)St. Pierre vs Shields
The Main Event of the evening will feature a Welterweight title fight that die hard MMA fans had been demanding for sometime throughout the internet. Longtime UFC 170lb champion Georges St. Pierre (GSP) will look to defend his title for the sixth time in a row against multi-promotional champion & recent former Strikeforce 185lb champ Jake Shields. GSP will come in with a eight fight winning streak with the last five being successful defenses of his title that includes ending a trilogy with former champ Matt Hughes & reclaiming the title to avenge his last loss to Matt Serra. Shields will come in with an astonishing fifteen fight win streak that includes winning a Rumble on the Rock welterweight tournament against Yushin Okami & Carlos Condit, winning the EliteXC welterweight title, defeating Jason Miller to earn the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight title, & surviving an early brutal beating from Dan Henderson to then dominate him en route to successfully defending his title, then taking on Martin Kampmann at UFC 121: Lesnar vs Velasquez to take a Split Decision win to earn #1 contendership for this bout. Nonstop speculation surrounds this bout as Dana White announced that should GSP successfully defend his title against Shields, that he feels that the champ should then vacate the title to move up to meet Anderson Silva in a super-fight, though GSP has repeatedly turned down questions on that matter to focus on the task at hand.
Comparing the two fighters, it is clear that GSP is the one who deserves the recognition as a true mixed martial artist, while Shields is recognized as a specialist in submission grappling with a developing striking game. Prior to his last title defense against Josh Koscheck, GSP had been criticized for continuously choosing to just take opponents down & wrestle them en route to a lopsided decision, which he shook off when he dominated Koscheck while utilizing the jab that actually broke his orbital bone in Rnd1 at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck 2. Shields has met some similar criticism always looking to get the fight to the ground where he can control with his amateur wrestling & elite BJJ skills, though he differs from GSP as he actually would look to finish with submissions or by TKO. GSP is the heavy favorite in this bout seen to have developed a great wrestling game that can keep the fight on the feet where he can utilize his superior striking, though GSP is also seen as possibly having the better grappling game to take on Shields should it hit the ground. Shields will undoubtedly look to get the fight to the ground where his elite grappling can possibly dominate GSP, though as seen against Henderson Shields does have the chin to take powerful strikes & recover fast. This bout may turn out to be a striker vs grappler affair where GSP will look to keep it standing at all times, while Shields will look to work his technique on the ground. While a majority of fans, fighters, & analysts look at this fight with GSP expected to come out on top, there are those who have believed this whole time that Shields has had the strategy & techniques to beat him all along. Many fighters have even come out to say that Shields has the great possibility of pulling off the upset. Should GSP be the victor, he will have defended the title a record six times in the welterweight division. Should Shields be the victor, he will have pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history since GSP's loss to Matt Serra. This bout is so unpredictable that a clear prediction is difficult to clearly comprehend.
(C)Aldo vs Hominick
Being the first of two title fights to showcase the light class fighters recently absorbed from the WEC, the newly minted UFC Featherweight championship will be on the line as potential top five P4P fighter Jose Aldo looks to defend his title for the first time as UFC champion against a dangerous striker in #1 contender Mark Hominick. Aldo is coming into this bout on an eleven fight win streak with the last being his final defense as WEC champion with Rnd2 KO win that earned him the transition to UFC Featherweight champion. Hominick comes into this bout on a five fight win streak with a recent Rnd1 TKO that took less than two minutes against George Roop at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 where he earned his #1 contendership. Aldo is an amazing example of a transitional mixed martial artist as he had originally come in as a highly touted BJJ black belt when entering the WEC, having earned seven of his eight wins in the promotion by way of knockout. Hominick on the other hand is a fast paced accurate striker who holds a well rounded ground game of his own. Aldo is the favorite coming into this bout expected to KO the Canadian Hominick en route to his first title defense as a UFC fighter, & make this another step to an expected jump up in weight to fight at 155lbs. Hominick on the other hand is seen as likely upset as many see him a possibly having the faster striking that can give Aldo some problems on the feet. Both fighters have made it clear that they intend to keep the fight standing which can provide an entertaining bout for all fans. Having fought for the UFC before, Hominick feels he may have the advantage coming in that combined with the event being in his home land of Canada may shake the nerves of Aldo who will make his promotional debut with plenty of fans & analysts already picking him as the winner. For Canadian fans, an upset in favor of Hominick would send roaring cheers throughout the sold out arena.
Couture vs Machida
The midway bout on this main card should serve as an interesting conflict of styles as two former champions meet with both at different points in their careers. Former 5x UFC Heavyweight/Light Heavyweight champion & UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture will face the always hard to catch former champion Lyoto Machida in a match-up that Couture himself had been requesting. Couture will come into this bout on a three fight win streak that includes a Rnd2 Submission win over fellow Hall of Famer Mark Coleman & a showcase Rnd1 Submission win over boxing champion James Toney at UFC 118: Edgar vs Penn 2. Machida comes in on a two fight losing streak that includes losing his title to Mauricio Rua by Rnd1 KO & a recent Split Decision loss to Quinton Jackson that some feel he should have won. Leading up to this event, Couture elaborated that he may retire win or lose after this bout. Also leading up to this event, Dana White mentioned that with a two fight losing streak, a third loss for Machida could mean his release from the promotion. Stylistically, Couture & Machida have trademarked their styles with both being difficult to predict. Couture has utilized his Greco-Roman wrestling throughout his career to dictate where a fight goes always working close in the clinch forcing his opponents against the cage draining their energy & utilizing his dirty boxing to pick them apart. Machida's style on the other hand focuses on distance as he primarily counter-strikes luring his opponents into his range where he strikes while leaning backwards to avoid getting caught in a classic karate style. Machida while stylistically difficult to predict, has been on the receiving end of criticism for performing the way he did against Jackson when he continuously moved away & rarely engaged. Couture has requested a match with Machida since returning to the 205lb division full time seeing the potential of both their styles colliding. Couture looks to utilize the clinch to avoid Machida's game in the distance, & is prepared to take him down where he can control with his experienced wrestling background. Machida will look to continue to utilize his long range game while avoiding the clinch of Couture. Machida also has a BJJ black belt that he has only used to earn two of his wins by submission. Styles make fights, & the styles that will be utilized makes this well deserving of being seen as a "chess match" in the cage.
Matyushenko vs Brilz
The second bout on the main card will see a two skilled Light Heavyweight wrestlers & veterans of the sport meet in the cage as former contender Vladimir Matyushenko fights former collegiate wrestler Jason Brilz. Matyushenko comes in off a strong performance with a Rnd1 TKO win over new addition Alexandre Ferreira at UFC 122: Marquardt vs Okami. Brilz comes in off a controversial Split Decision loss against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114: Rampage vs Evans where fans in the arena agreed with boos that Brilz deserved the decision win. This bout may come down to striking between as each can cancel out the other's wrestling. The faster hands may go to Matyushenko with strong combinations, while Brilz picks his shots well having given Nogueira some problems on the feet. With Matyushenko at the age of 40 & Brilz at the age of 35, it may be safe to say that a run for the title for either fighter is not in the cards, though both can provide entertaining performances either looking for a stoppage as soon as possible, or grinding the other to a decision. This fight may be expected to go the distance, which we believe would work to the advantage of Brilz who showed good endurance & stamina while taking on Nogueira. Even with a decision expected, both do have the means of finishing the fight with accurate well placed shots.
Henderson vs Bocek
The first bout on the card presents a Lightweight match-up with now former WEC 155lb champion Benson Henderson making his UFC debut facing Canadian grappler & UFC veteran Mark Bocek. Henderson comes in off his second career loss with a Unanimous Decision which awarded his title to the final WEC 155lb champ Anthony Pettis at WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis. Bocek comes in off a quick Rnd1 Submission win over Dustin Hazelett at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck 2. Henderson comes in with a strong grappling game being a 2x NAIA collegiate All-American & having earned eight of his wins by way of submission that includes a standing guillotine to earn him the WEC title. Bocek possesses a skilled grappling game of his own having earned seven of his wins by way of submission. Henderson looks to make a statement wanting to jump into the top ten of the UFC's 155lb division utilizing his fast paced aggression to control the fight looking for a stoppage win as always. Bocek will look to be another UFC fighter to claim superiority over what many consider to be lesser competition coming from the WEC. Henderson's freestyle striking & grappling control could prove to control the pace of the fight always on the offensive. Bocek will look to take the fight to the ground looking to add Henderson to his list of submission wins & make a statement on behalf of fellow UFC lightweights. This should prove to be an entertaining bout to start off the televised main card for the PPV.
With such a large attendance expected, and a card like this stacked up, the atmosphere in the arena will be electric with Toronto based MMA fans filled with excitement to finally see a UFC live in their homeland. The atmosphere alone leading into the main event will be tense as their will be partisan fans expecting a victory for the Canadian sports icon St. Pierre, and the fans who know well that in the sport of MMA, an upset is always a possibility that see Shields earning the title he feels is long overdue for him to grasp. Anticipation for the co-main event will bring hopes of an upset in favor of Hominick who looks to become the first Canadian UFC Featherweight champion. The midway bout will be more tense for the fighters as Couture contemplation of retirement could give more incentive to earn a win, while Machida may very well be fighting to save his UFC career. The second bout of the night will serve as one of the more unpredictable fights as both Matyushenko & Brilz have the skill-set to cancel out the other. The first bout will feature another UFC vs WEC bout with a former WEC champ in Henderson looking to rise up in the elite rankings of the #1 MMA promotion in the world, while Bocek will look to add him to his resume & halt his plans for obtaining gold. This event very well be one of the most anticipated MMA events of the year, and it is only the end of April when it will take place as there are plenty of cards that are being stacked with bouts that alone can serve as main events all their own.
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Great article, I agree with your veiws on the Couture-Machida match. I feel it's a great style for Randy as if he can start well by press Machida against the cage and scoring points in the clinch, then Machida will have to chase the fight in the latter rounds which is something he is not too effective at. If Randy wins, although it would put him in title contention I feel it would be a good fight for him to bow out on; as I would not like to see him be destroyed by the likes of Jones, Rua, Rampage, Bader etc. However there could still be some interesting fights left for him if the Strikeforce merger were to take place in the near future, such as Fedor or a grudge amtch with Hendo.
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