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But it wasn't pretty.
St. Pierre defeated Jake Shields by unanimous decision in front of 55,000 fans, but an injury to his eye suffered in the second round hampered his performance through the remainder of the fight, and though he won the fight it was perhaps his worst championship performance in the Octagon.
Even more perplexing was the gameplan of Shields. After failing to take St. Pierre down in the first round, Shields made no attempts to bring the fight to the ground afterward, and his striking game was simply not anywhere near St. Pierre's level. Despite working with one eye, St. Pierre still out-struck him, and landed the more significant strikes throughout the fight.
It was a disappointing end to what was a great and historic night for the UFC with the largest crowd and largest gate in the organization's history, and for St. Pierre it was another in a line of "what might have been" performances.
Penick's Analysis: For Shields, his first loss in over six years will be a massive disappointment, because the gameplan he employed was nowhere near effective. There was no way he was going to win this fight on the feet, and he made no attempts to get it to the ground after the first round. It made no sense at the time and it makes no sense right now, and it cost him the belt he so coveted. That was the worst fight both of these guys have had in a long time.
Patrick The Predator Côté Randy The Natural Couture Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz
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