UFC 129: Canucks: St. Pierre, Hominick, MacDonald, Bocek—Who Will Emerge?

UFC 129: St.Pierre vs. Shields is finally set to rock the Rogers Center in Toronto next Saturday night and due to the fact that the local fans delivered the largest gate in UFC history, the UFC and matchmaker Joe Silva have served up 10 Canuck combatants to get us Canadian MMA fans primed and ready.

In my humble opinion, Canada is and always has been an MMA mecca of sorts and it has been a long time waiting to see some of our home grown warriors test themselves against the best in the world, in the biggest cage in the world!

Some of our fighters are at the top of the heap in MMA (GSP, Hominick) and have had long successful fighting careers already, (Jason MacDonald, Bocek.).and some have paid long dues to get this one time chance at glory. 

In this slideshow, "The "Sensei" will break down the five top Canadians on the card, and who will emerge and capitalize on April 30th.

Mark Bocek

Bocek will have his cardio tested and his hands full against Henderson

Mark Bocek has been waiting for this for a long time.

After his amazing submission win against rubbery Dustin Hazelett in December of last year Bocek called out his fellow jiu-jitsu men and stated that he was the best in the division.

I thought his win against Hazelett was impressive, and he capitalized on a key error and cinched in the triangle for the win, however, Ben Henderson is another beast in my opinion, and Bocek will have to bring more to the table to get the job done.Henderson will push a pace that Bocek may not know of.

Granted, he fought a hard decision loss to Jim Miller before his fight with Hazelett, but I think Henderson's pace and athleticism may be even better than Miller's. Bocek has tremendous jiu-jitsu game, and I am rooting for him.

He is from a little 'burb in Toronto called Woodbridge and I work in that town so I have a vested interest. The boys at the office are rooting for him, but I believe Bocek may have trouble in this one with Henderson's all around relentless game.

Will Bocek emerge?

Sensei says Henderson in a decision.

Another well, tough fought fight by Bocek, and he will please the home fans, but he will lose a close judges call once again.

Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald

Jensens wrestling will frustrate MacDonald. If the judges reward him with submission attempts and pushing switches from the bottom he has a chance at a decision win.

Jason MacDonald is fighting for his job in Toronto but he is not fighting for his future.

An extremely well-respected and popular mixed martial artist in this country who manages a gym, fighters and many other interests in the MMA world, all while juggling a nice size family says "The Athlete" and his future are never in doubt.

He is a busy guy. He knows and admits though, that if he wants to be considered for future UFC fight cards and paydays, local or not, he is going to have to deliver a typically exciting performance at UFC 129.

He is bouncing back after a horrific injury suffered in his last fight and he needs to reaffirm himself in the UFC ranks as a fighter who entertains and is always a candidate for a UFC bonus.

He will be facing American Ryan Jensen, who has a wrestling-based game and will be looking to dominate position on JMac wherever the fight goes. This is a tough one for me, because I am a huge JMac follower, and I have visions of Jensen taking JMac down at every turn and lying in top position.

If MacDonald can keep moving and attempt some of his slick top-level jiu-jitsu, I believe he should get a decision, however, we all know how much dominant position accounts for in the judges eyes in a fight, so JMac will have to push for a submission win.

Will MacDonald emerge?

Sensei says he will give it his best chance and push submissions and switches on Jensen all night, however, Jensen will hold in dominant position and frustrate JMac.

In the end, the judges will award a decision to Jensen. I hope I'm wrong on this one

Rory "The Waterboy" MacDonald

I'm pegging this one as fight of the night as these 2 tough and hungry youngters will do a bit of everything in the cage in a war

Rory MacDonald is this country's future in MMA.

I don't say that to heap tons of pressure on his young shoulders but when you look at where Canadian fighters sit, and where this sport is headed I believe this to be true.

GSP is Canada's present. MacDonald provided a glimpse of his budding talent and toughness when he picked a fight with tough as hell fighter Carlos Condit on home soil in Vancouver last year. I had seen all of Condit's fights and thought Rory was a bit in over his head in that matchup until he came out swinging and beating Condit up for two rounds in that fight.

It was then that he emerged in the MMA world's eyes and April 30 gives him another hot chance in the spotlight.

MacDonald landed another tough matchup but it is a golden match up as he gets American fighter and highly known tough guy Nate Diaz.

This is one boring and humble Canadian's opportunity to silence a brash, cocky yet valid American tough guy. These two fighters are young and ready to smash at all times, yet they also bring that element of danger when the fight hits the ground as both are killers and look to continue to punish with strikes or lock in submissions from every angle.

I look for this fight to be the best one of the night, for a whole lotta reasons.

Will MacDonald emerge?

Sensei says this one will be extremely satisfying for the Canadian crowd. We all love a tough fight with backs and forths where both guys lay it out on the line so either way, MacDonald and Diaz will gain fans with this one.

I believe that "The Waterboy" MacDonald will surprise once again, and win this fight with a well-rounded beating, and his ability to escape submissions.

Mark "The Machine" Hominick

Through no doing of his own Mark Hominick will have a difficult time on April 30th. Aldo is just in another league all by himself.

Mark Hominick may be sick of the No. 2. This is only really in my crazy eyes but there is too much of that number flashing inside my head when it comes to one of my favorite fighters in the world. 

Hominick is now, finally getting some of his due from the MMA private and public.

Now about that No. 2, he is not in the headline fight on this card but the No. 2 fight. He is behind a headliner...you know who. In my eyes, he is the second best fighter in this country pound for pound behind...you know who.

And for every nook and cranny I look for in Hominick's awesome MMA game, I still cannot find one that will confidently say he will emerge over Jose Aldo in this fight. Aldo is just too good.

He is the king of that division—undisputed No. 1. Hominick, in my opinion is the undisputed No. 2. Hominick has world-class MMA striking. It is pinpoint and it is quick. He is also a cerebral assassin, where he knows when and how to load up on his shots, especially to the body.

He can roll at a top level too. He is top-notch in every facet of the game, he just isn't Jose Aldo, and that will be the problem.

Hominick has stated time and time again leading up to this fight that Jose has not faced a fighter like him yet, and I believe that to be true. But turn that statement around and I think you get to the hard truth that Hominick has not fought a fighter as explosive and primal as Aldo, and I hope Hominick can make this one last.

Will Hominick emerge?

This one hurts because I grew up one hour away from Mark's home town and I am a huge fan and follower of his game, but I think Aldo will knock Hominick out. Either KO or TKO.

Through no fault of his own, Hominick will be dominated by quickness and power, wherever the fight goes, however long it goes.

Georges St. Pierre

GSP will fight and win again, and it will be another jab and wrestle performance for him

How can you emerge when you are an odds-on favorite to win, are a national hero and celebrity and are already the top dog in the profession you are in?

The short answer is that you really can't and thus is the danger for GSP.

We have seen this before with him and he has reminded us of the fact in leading up to this fight. GSP is at the top because of all his MMA talents. He has a skill-set like no other but he is also one of the true martial artist of MMA where he knows that relentless mastery of fight prep, game plan strategy and in cage execution are the keys to victory.

He is supposed to beat Shields and I believe he will by out jabbing and out wrestling Shields. GSP will dominate Shields at his own game, but it won't be as one sided as many think it will be.

There may be tough moments for him in this fight but I believe he will have all the answers for Shields also dominant game, and will win with a decision. 

Will GSP emerge?

Sensei says that GSP will win and deliver a solid performance, but he will not gain much by doing it other than keep his win streak intact and continue to fuel speculation that there is no one left for him at 170 lbs, and a super fight may be all that is worth while on his horizon.

These are the top five Canadians on the card and how I think they will shake out after this ground breaking event in my hometown!

There are five other great Canadian fighters on the card as well in very tough relevant matchups, like Toronto would-be cop Sean Pierson fighting risky last minute replacement American Jake Ellenberger, Canadian MMA pioneer Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia, Mississauga's own Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts and top Quebec fighters John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson and Yves Jabouin vs Pablo Garza.

Enjoy the event Canuck fight fans!!