We’re just a few days removed from UFC 129, and if you’re not excited about this Saturday’s event, you should probably keep that to yourself. After all, April 30th will feature not one, but two title fights, likely Randy Couture’s last fight ever, and…50,000 or so Canadian fans. Have you ever seen a hockey riot? There are some passionate sports fans in the Great White North.
Of course, the main event will feature welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre throwing down with Jake Shields. While avid observers of the sport understand that the former Strikeforce champ could pose a threat to GSP on the ground, a lot of mainstream fans aren’t really sure if they’ve even seen Shields fight, much less think he’s going to push St.Pierre. ‘Yeah dude, he fought that Martin Kampmann guy, and almost, well kinda lost, remember?’
In contrast, St. Pierre has consistently been saying that Shields is his toughest test to date, and with that in mind then, is he feeling the pressure come over him like a wet, soggy blanket? Yes, yes he is. Is that a bad thing? Non, non, it’s not. (Thanks to MMA Weekly for the quote).
“Let’s say I would fight Jake in a basement when nobody is watching, maybe the pressure would not have been that bad. Sometimes it’s having the people around and the entourage that makes it worse. But on the other side, I perform better when I’m under pressure,” St-Pierre stated.
Well, considering there’s going to be a few million people watching this fight, there’s probably going to be just a wee bit of pressure there… Saturday can’t get here soon enough. To bet on the bout head here.