Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: Have the UFC's promotional efforts increased your anticipation for UFC 129? MMATorch staff and contributors comment
Apr 29, 2011 - 5:45:42 PM ROUNDTABLE: Have the UFC's promotional efforts increased your anticipation for UFC 129? MMATorch staff and contributors comment

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How excited are you for UFC 129 and have the UFC's promotional efforts done their job in increasing your anticipation?

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I'm still underwhelmed by UFC 129, to be frank.  The three big fights all look to be slaughters (GSP, Aldo, and Machida, although I think the Aldo fight will be very tough).  I'm curious as to how Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz is on the PPV, as opposed to the undercard of a Spike or Versus event.  Earlier this month I wrote that I was more anxious to see the Strikeforce:  Diaz vs. Daley event, and I stand by that assertion still.

ALVIN CARTER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I am very excited! Any card that has GSP and Jose Aldo on it has me excited. I also am a fan of Jake Shields, and I am eager to see if he can at least give GSP more trouble than he has seen in a while.  The promotion has re-upped my anticipation as a lot of the the event's shine has been dulled by the well deserved Jon Jones hype. 

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I'm fairly excited for this card. I think the UFC hasn't done that good a job hyping the Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick fight. I think that fight will be the best of the night and it's the one not getting talked about that much. Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture is one of those special attraction fights, but does anyone really expect an exciting fight? Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields should be a good fight and all the ads for the show make the fight seem more exciting than it probably will be. I think we're going to see another dominating GSP 5 round decision where he's clearly head and shoulders above his opponent.

JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I'm geeked beyond belief to see UFC 129, however UFC's promotional efforts have little to do with that. While the commercial that was produced to hype St. Pierre vs. Shields was excellent, the UFC hasn't done much to let casual fans know stacked this card really is. The main event sells pay-per-views, and Georges St. Pierre is all you really need, but this card is way too stacked to receive the same treatment that UFC 124 did. The debut of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and the final fight of Randy Couture are things that would hook the casual viewer just as much as the main event.
 
I'm much more excited for the card as a whole than I am for a main event that might turn out to be the type of squash match that goes largely unseen outside of professional wrestling.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

The promos for this fight have done nothing to increase my anticipation. The commercial for UFC 129 showing GSP  walking back to the locker room from a fight and Shields walking by in street clothes is just plain awful. It is very Clubber Lang vs Rocky.  The UFC promos are never riveting television, but this spot in particular is one of the worst  I can remember.  I think the UFC has not done a great job promoting this fight, but because of the quality of the card it should still have good buy rates. 

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

The fact that not only do you get to see the best fighter in the world in Georges St. Pierre defend his title and extend his winning streak to three years straight, you also have Jose Aldo defending his belt, plus Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida.  GSP alone would have sold me on this card, but even though that alone sells the fight, the UFC trying to push this card and give it a hard sell is a nice touch because cards like these don't need that.  It just shows that the UFC (and Zuffa in particular) are trying to establish MMA and break through any ceilings they have left.

ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I'm the first to complain when the UFC puts a dud event on pay-per-view (Vitor Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama as a main event, anyone?), but any time Randy Couture vs Lyoto Machida is third from the top, you know it's a stacked card.  So as to maintain objectivity as a reporter, I try to avoid getting sucked in to the UFC hype machine while still evaluating how well I think they are sucking in the average fan.  I believe the commercials for the event and the Primetime show have done an excellent job of making it seem like Jake Shields has a better chance of winning than he actually does.

MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
 
Due to the top three fights and the fact that its the UFC's first stadium show, my anticipation sits at a solid 9 on a scale of 1-10. The GSP-Jake Shields commercials have been cool, but even the standard UFC pay-per-view promo would've been fine with me. The fact that every fight will be easily accessible is just icing on the cake.