UFC 129: Georges St-Pierre outlasts Jake Shields

Georges St-Pierre never wrestled in high school. Georges St-Pierre never wrestled in college. Georges St-Pierre is considered one of if not the best wrestler in mixed martial arts.

Yet there he was, the UFC welterweight champion, pushing away Jake Shields. There he was, the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, not shooting in or engaging in the clinch. That's because of Shields' reputation and background as another top grappler.

In what was a technical and rather unexciting fight, St-Pierre successfully defended his title for the sixth straight time, defeating Shields via unanimous decision in UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on Saturday night. The judges scored it 50-45, 48-47, 48-47.

"I can't see with my left eye right now," GSP said during his post-fight interview inside the octagon. "HIs striking was much better than I thought."

Shields was ineffective the first two rounds in his stand-up, but emerged in the final three rounds with successful jabs. But as Shields moved the needle in terms of stand-up, causing swelling under GSP's left eye and cutting his nose, it was St-Pierre who landed the more powerful strikes.

St-Pierre (22-2) sent Shields staggering to the ground for a second with a left jab in the first round. St-Pierre dropped Shields wth a big left head kick at the 2:43 mark of the fourth round. In between, GSP had two takedowns and quickly and easily stuffed the handful of takedown attempts from Shields. (26-5-1)