The only thing that appeared to be in jeopardy in the main event of the great UFC 129 fight card was George St. Pierre's consecutive round streak.
But as that came to an end, St. Pierre thoroughly and definitively dispatched No. 1 contender Jake Shields to retain his UFC welterweight title, leaving only one possible matchup remaining for the welterweight king—UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
"I just finished my fight, so I haven't considered that," St. Pierre said in his postfight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan. "It would [make me] reconsider my career—we'll sit and talk."
The fight was a little different than typical St. Pierre fights, as the bout was almost entirely a boxing match, with St. Pierre landing a higher percentage of strikes, but less than Shields in all. To emphasize his feat, St. Pierre fought with one eye from the third round on.
"It happened in the second round," said St. Pierre of the mouse under his eye. "I can't see out of my left eye—I have to go to the hospital, it's bad."
Credit must be given to Shields, though, for the tough performance he put on, going five rounds against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. Shields landed more strikes and bloodied St. Pierre, something that hasn't noticeably been done since his first bout with B.J. Penn.
Still, the win over Shields needs to be the final straw in the cup that is Anderson Silva. Fans have been asking for it, and now there is only one fight standing in the way of the Silva-St.Pierre dream bout.
Yushin Okami will try to play spoiler to that fantasy fight when he takes on Silva at UFC: Rio in August.
UFC 129 St-Pierre vs. Shields: Fight Card, News, Predictions, Results, and More!
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