After a whirlwind four days covering the UFC 129 event in Toronto, it is time for me to sit back and reflect on the biggest MMA event ever held.
After covering many events in the course of my career, I think that what impressed me the most about the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the accessibility of it. Fans were allowed the opportunity to interact with their favorite fighters and I can think of no other sport that has allowed such direct access.
UFC 129 also proved that the ratification of mixed martial arts in Ontario was a long time coming. While it generated a lot of income for the city of Toronto and opened Dana White’s production open to a whole new audience, this should have happened a long time ago and for an event that only highlights the best in modern-day athleticism, there definitely should not be as much red tape as there is (are you listening New York?)
As for the event itself, this is where I feel the most points were earned. While a lot of hype was given to the main events of Georges St-Pierre versus Jake Shields and Jose Aldo against Mark Hominick, we knew that these matches would deliver. It was the undercard that I really enjoyed with more than half of the matches being decided by a knockout or submission. The point that people usually do not consider when talking about an event attending by 55,000 people is that it leaves 55,000 people having to be entertained and that is what this show did. The undercard was particularly strong and that was definitely a major surprise to me.
The fight also showed that Jose Aldo is human. While he dominated the first four rounds against Mark Hominick, he certainly didn’t finish him the way that most expected him too and this adds much more drama to his future title defenses.
For GSP fans hoping to finally see their hero finish, they were left wanting more but the true genius of St-Pierre’s tactics and strategy quite honestly put him in a different league than Jake Shields. Known for dominating past opponents, Shields simply looked like a mosquito that GSP kept swatting off, stuffing literally every takedown attempt with ease. While the list of welterweight challengers for the Canadian begins to dwindle, the greatness of his legacy was only cemented in Toronto.
While it definitely is time for Randy Couture to retire, Lyoto Machida is still one of the pound-for-pound best light-heavyweights today and his recent troubles seem to finally be behind him.
The live experience at the Rogers Centre is something that will never be emulated or captured again. Period.
Next time, though… I will definitely get my interview with Octagon girls.
Here is a list of all of my live coverage over the past four days for one of the most historical MMA events ever.
Murtz’s UFC 129 LIVE Coverage: Day 2 Highlights, GSP Gets Funny Before Match With Shields
Murtz’s UFC 129 LIVE Coverage: Randy Couture Works Out, Discusses Retirement & Dana White’s Reaction
Murtz’s UFC 129 LIVE Coverage: Day 1 Photo Gallery, St-Pierre, Shields, Aldo, Hominick, Couture, Machida
Murtz’s UFC 129 LIVE Coverage: Day 1 Highlights, Press Conference Recap
