GEORGES ST PIERRE VS JAKE SHIELDS
Something seemed off about GSP from the second he started fighting tonight. He seemed stiff and tentative, his punches weren't landing like they normally did, and he seemed extra cautious about letting Jake Shields get inside even for a few seconds. Things didn't get any better as the fight went on. Actually, it went from bad to worse.
If the story of GSP vs Kos was the inside jab, this one was the tale of the overhand right. Unfortuntely for Georges, his jab may be a scalpel but his overhand is a short crappy club. It missed way more often than it landed, and it didn't do much when it did. But he kept throwing it over and over and over and over.
And then there was the eye issues. Jake Shields managed to pop Georges in the eye and it was just one of those deceptive shots that seem like nothing but fuck a guy up really badly. From the end of round three onwards Georges was more concerned with not being able to see out of his left eye than anything else.
I guess I should mention Jake Shields at this point, because in theory he was a part of this contest. The closest he ever came to a takedown was grabbing Georges' leg for a second or two. His striking was on par with the kind of thing you'd see in a UFC Undisputed 2009 training demo. He wasn't really a factor in this fight, and even though his corner told him Georges was hurt and freakin, he didn't push the pace into the final two rounds.
Georges continued to perform okay, if you consider keeping your opponent outside and hitting but not hurting 'okay.' He landed a killer headkick in round 4 reminiscent of the second Matt Hughes fight they showed on SpikeTV before the prelims, but unlike the GSP of 2007, this GSP didn't follow up. He didn't even try to move in and continue his attack.
At least this time Georges has an excuse for a tepid and safe performance - his eye was bunged up and it kept him from fighting as hard as he keeps saying he wants to. As Jose Aldo showed, even champs are capable of having off nights. Between GSP having an off night and a messed up eye, it was a pretty ugly fight.
WINNER: GEORGES ST PIERRE VIA JUDGE'S DECISION (50-45, 48-47, 48-47)
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