UFC 129 Main Card: Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields Head To Toe Breakdown

In what is being billed as the biggest event in UFC history, will feature the biggest welterweight bout in recent memory as UFC welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre will look to defend his title against challenger Jake Shields at UFC 130 in Toronto, Ontario. 

UFC 129 will mark St-Pierre's sixth title defense and he will be squaring off with one the top welterweights in the world. Shields holds a significant amount of experience, holding titles in multiple mixed martial arts promotions, including Elite XC and Strikeforce. 

Both fighters have been dominant throughout the latter half of the decade. St-Pierre has held the welterweight title on two occasions, and he has steamrolled through a path of top contenders in his division including Matt Hughes, BJ Penn and Jon Fitch. While Shields, who is a renowned Brazilian-Jiu-Jitsu black belt, is on a 15-fight winning streak and has not lost a fight in 6 years. 

Both men present problems to each other, in one aspect or more, and a win for either St-Pierre or Shields will determine the best welterweight on the planet. 

Here is a George St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields Head To Toe Breakdown. 

1.) Striking

Georges St-Pierre is the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC. He is one the most accomplished strikers in MMA today, displaying technique and skill in his strikes. 

Always someone who leaves more to be desired, St-Pierre put on one of the most one-sided performances in UFC history as utilized his striking, especially his jab, for a majority of the time against Josh Koscheck at UFC 124 in Montreal, Quebec. St-Pierre displayed such dominance and flawless technique that he broke his opponent's orbital bone with his first five jabs.

St-Pierre trains in a variety of styles including, kickboxing, kyokushin karate and boxing, as he insists on being the best mixed martial artist of all-time. 

St-Pierre is very strategic and methodical in his approach on the feet, fighting towards his opponent's weaknesses rather than their strengths, picking them apart and frustrating them in the process. His strength and superior athleticism overwhelms his opponents and forces them out of their comfort zone. 

Shields hasn't been known primarily as a striker, in fact it is the biggest weakness in his arsenal as a fighter. While he has shown improvement recently, more often, he uses his strikes to setup a clinch or a takedown. 

Unless Shields imposes his will and forces St-Pierre to the ground, he will be in for long night.

Advantage: St-Pierre.

2.) Grappling

If Shields has any hopes of this fight being contested on the ground, he might want to be the one who is dictating the pace and put his opponent down first. St-Pierre possesses the best grappling ability in MMA today and he is a handful for any opponent he puts on the canvas. 

Part of what makes St-Pierre's wrestling such a threat to his opponents is how technical and strong he is with his takedowns, working from different positions, angles in order to establish a dominant position on the ground. He is relentless in his approach, and unlike most wrestlers who shoot in, St-Pierre consistently drives forward using his strength and his opponents weight to throw them off balance. 

Perhaps one the best displays of his takedown success was in his title bout versus Thiago Alves at UFC 100. While winning a few exchanges on the feet, it was St-Pierre's relentless takedowns that frustrated and threw the Brazilian off his gameplan the entire fight. St-Pierre used a variety of techniques and takedowns that were more efficient than the last. 

What's mind boggling is that St-Pierre doesn't hold the credentials like most wrestlers have in MMA, he is just that good. 

Once St-Pierre puts you on the canvas, he immediately controls his opponent, imposing his will and utilizing effective ground-and pound to wear them out and pass their guard. 

Holding a takedown success rate over 83%, St-Pierre will take down just about anybody at will. And Jake Shields is no exception. 

Advantage: St-Pierre. 

3.) Submissions

It is not too often fans have seen St-Pierre go for a submission attempt, or even have a opponent execute a submission on him, and it could be the one aspect of the fight Shields can find success in. 

Shields is one of the most accomplished submission artists in MMA today, a BJJ black belt, has recorded 10 of his 26 wins by submission. He displays very good takedowns but he utilizes the cage to grind on and wear down his opponents in order to get them to the canvas. From there, he imposes his will and establishes on a dominant position from top guard and looks to submit his opponent. 

However, along with displaying the best takedowns, St-Pierre holds some of the best takedown defense and he is quite difficult to put down. And it was evident in his title bout against Josh Koscheck that once he is put down, he is hard to keep down and he showed good scrambling techniques to avoid being in a vulnerable position. 

If Shields wants to insure any sort of chance of winning, he needs to get inside of the champion, and clinch. As soon as he is able to get St-Pierre down he must look to pass his guard and minimize as much distance as he can. While he tries to minimize distance, Shields should look for an opening and go for a submission. 

Advantage: Shields. 

4.) Intangibles

As much as a fighter's skills play a role into a fight, so too do the training camps they surround themselves with. 

Georges St-Pierre devotes his time between Greg Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Tri-Star gym in Montreal, Quebec, training and preparing with some of the best coaches and fighters in MMA. Some of those fighters include, Nate Marquardt, Jon Jones, and Shane Carwin. Depending on who his opponent is, St-Pierre will train with his teammates and use them accordingly to his opponent's style. And in Montreal, St-Pierre spars and works on different training techniques with head trainer Firas Zhabi.

In addition, St-Pierre goes throughout different parts of the world to seek the best training possible in order to make him reach his potential as a fighter, working with such people as Freddie Roach and Roger Gracie. 

Meanwhile in California, Shields trains at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with such fighters as Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz. He trains throughout California in such cities as San Francisco and Berkeley, and implementing different strategies and techniques from incorporating other fighters. For example, in preparation for his bout versus St-Pierre, Shields brought in accomplished wrestlers Phil Davis and Chael Sonnen. 

While Shields has incorporated some of the best athletes in the UFC to help him prepare, along with his team at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, St-Pierre has a lot more variety of fighters he can work with and different facilities to travel to in order to implement the best strategy. And given the talent of both fighter's camps, it's no wonder St-Pierre has been able to defend his title in such impressive fashion. 

Advantage: St-Pierre.

5.) Conclusion

This certainly will be one the tougher tests of St-Pierre's career, but ultimately he will prevail. 

St-Pierre will want to use his superior stand up skills and look to dictate the pace and out strike Shields, exposing his biggest weakness. St-Pierre will also utilize his jab and strong boxing skills to keep his distance and prevent his opponent from getting inside of him. Look for the champion to be innovative and versatile in his attack to continue to wear down his opponent. 

If this fight should be contested on the ground, St-Pierre will be the one likely putting Shields down and and controlling him. In fact, St-Pierre might want to establish his takedown fast and early enough in the bout to keep Shields guessing and throw him off his gameplan. 

St-Pierre will impose his will on the feet and on the ground and use his wrestling skills to avoid being caught in a submission and continuously frustrate and dominate Shields, as a result of his effective guard passing, transitions and ground-and pound. 

St-Pierre will be superior in nearly all aspects of the fight and his opponent will not be able to capitalize on St-Pierre's mistakes, that is if he can find any mistakes. 

Winner: Georges St-Pierre via TKO 4th round.