Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: What was your favorite moment from UFC 129? Hansen, Perez, Hobaugh, Marsh, Hyden, Pelkey and Penick
May 12, 2011 - 5:00:05 PM ROUNDTABLE: What was your favorite moment from UFC 129? Hansen, Perez, Hobaugh, Marsh, Hyden, Pelkey and Penick

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What was your favorite moment from UFC 129?

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Easily, my favorite moment of UFC 129 was when I calculated the Confidence Picks game entries and had the distinct pleasure of telling Jamie Penick that he missed out on winning that game's title by falling short on the fourth tie-breaker.  But since he lapped the field in the betting contest that joy was fleeting, so I suppose seeing Lyoto Machida announce to the world that he is a force to be reckoned with at 205 is the lasting memory for me.

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

No question it was the heart of Mark Hominick moving forward and doing his best - after being bloodied, bruised, and disfigured - to defeat the champ in five rounds and never giving up.  Machida may have the memory of the night as it's hard to forget a KO like that, but Hominick showed true heart of a champion, and didn't need a belt to prove it.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

When Randy Couture said to Joe Rogan "I think the last time we had this conversation I had all my teeth."  It would have been really easy to have been less than pleasant after getting his ass beat by Lyoto Machida. I think that has been the big draw of Couture as a fighter over the years.  When he wins he is humble and when he looses he makes fun of him self. This is one of the many reasons I will miss him in the octagon. 

GRIFFIN MARSH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

THE KARATE KID KRANE KICK! ... duh

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I liked Lyoto Machida's homage to The Karate Kid. I know it's mixing characters from that movie, but I was expecting a "sweep the leg," or a "put him in a bodybag, Lyoto!" soundbite from Mike Goldberg or Joe Rogan. That highlight reel kick from Machida to put the seal on Randy Couture's illustrious career was my favorite moment for sure. There was other great stuff, but that was it for me. It was just a beautiful kick.

MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
 
So many to choose from: Lyoto's best Daniel Larusso in the All Valley Karate Tournament impression, the subsequent slow-mo replays of Randy Couture's tooth flying through the air, Rory MacDonald's three suplexes in one round, Pablo Garza's flying triangle, John Makdessi's spinning backfist. But for me, it was the fifth round of Aldo-Hominick. After sustaining the beating of a lifetime through four rounds, Hominick managed to score his first takedown of the fight a minute into the last round. From there he started pouring on the punishment. He wasn't able to get the finish in needed, but in the hope spot to end all hope spots (pro wrestling reference) Hominick had my heart beating in my throat as the time ticked down. It was one of the gutsiest performances I've ever seen in sports, and while it wasn't enough to wrest the title away from Aldo, it was enough to earn a draw on my personal (irrelevant) scorecard: 10-9, 9-10, 10-9, 10-9, 8-10...47-47. Fight of the Year so far.

JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It's a tossup for me between Machida's Karate Kid homage against Randy Couture and Rory MacDonald rag-dolling Nate Diaz in the third round of their fight with three suplex-like slams. Though the main event would ultimately be a let-down ending to the UFC's historic night in Toronto, those two highlights alone would have made up for it. But throw in Mark Hominick's gutsy performance in his loss to Jose Aldo in an excellent fight, John Makdessi throwing in a spinning back fist knockout with a beautiful setup, Pablo Garza pulling off the flying triangle choke, Jason MacDonald utilizing excellent technique in his own triangle submission, this was simply a fantastic night of fights with tons of great moments. But Machida and Rory MacDonald topped the list for me.