UFC 129 Ticket Sales Announced and Other Happenings

Another interesting week in the world of mixed martial arts culminates with tonight’s UFC “Fight for the Troops 2” event, headlined by rising star Evan Dunham taking on gatekeeper Melvin Guillard.

Although that’s the main event, Ontario fans will have a closer eye on the featherweight bout between London’s Mark Hominick and George Roop. With a victory, Hominick will lock up a shot at UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at the upcoming UFC 129 event, emanating from the Skydome (not the Rogers Centre) on April 30^th.

Hominick is the favourite in the bout, but my guess is that it could be much closer than people expect. Roop has solid stand-up skills and if he’s smart will use his reach to keep the shorter Hominick at bay. That being said, I’m still picking Hominick to find a way to get it done, probably via submission. For my full predictions on the event, check out http://www.mmahq.com/blog/2011/01/21/writers-pick-fight-for-the-troops-2-main-card/

The rumoured James Wilks vs. Rory MacDonald for UFC 129 has now been upgraded to Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald in what is guaranteed to produce fireworks. After his recent unanimous decision loss to Dong Hyun Kim, Diaz complained of fighters coming to win a decision instead of actually fighting. He will not face the same problem with MacDonald, who proved how tough he was in his controversial loss to Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in June of 2010. These two will likely keep the fight on the feet and exchange strikes until one of them cannot take it anymore or the time expires.

The UFC 129 card as of right now is:

UFC Welterweight Championship: Georges St. Pierre (GSP for those new to the sport) vs. Jake Shields

Light-heavyweight: Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida

Lightweight: Ben Henderson vs. Mark Bocek (of Woodbridge, Ont.)

Welterweight: Rory MacDonald (of Quesnel, B.C) vs. Nate Diaz

Lightweight: Kyle Watson vs. John Makdessi

Featherweight: Pablo Garza vs. Yves Jabouin

Light-Heavyweight: Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill

Welterweight: Sean Pierson (of Toronto, Ont.) vs. Brian Foster

Welterweight: Daniel Roberts vs. Claude Patrick (of Toronto, Ont.)

Bantemweight: Ivan Menjivar (fights out of Montreal, Qbc.) vs. Charlie Valencia

Middleweight: Jason MacDonald (of New Glascow, N.S.) vs. Ryan Jensen

Tickets go on sale Feb. 12 to the general public. They will go fast so be prepared. Official ticket prices will be released next Wednesday (Jan. 26) but there are rumours that nosebleed seats are going for upwards of $200. Start counting your change now, this one isn’t going to be cheap.

Nate’s brother, Nick Diaz, recently riled up a few feathers in the mixed martial arts community by essentially refusing to fight arch-nemesis Jason Miller without a hefty paycheque on the line. You may recall that Diaz jumped Miller during the now infamous melee that took place last April at Strikeforce: Nashville. The two have gone back and forth with verbal assaults since the event and for one reason or another have not been able to get a contract signed. This is one of many fights that fans want to see that Strikeforce have not been able to deliver to fans, but that is another story for another time.

In closing, I encourage everyone to donate to those struggling in Brazil right now with the heavy rainfall that have wiped out whole communities. The two I've donated to are http://www.combatathletecharities.com/ and http://teampopovitchlive.com/?p=163

One of the worlds best grapplers, Pablo Popovitch, lost his mother in the landslide and his father is in intensive care. Even a few dollars can go a long way.

- SS