GSP remembers Jake Shields fight at UFC 129 a decade later: “I was blind for about half the fight”

UFC legend GSP remembered his title fight main event against Jake Shields at UFC 129 a decade after it happened.

At the time, UFC 129 on April 30, 2011, was the biggest event in UFC history as over 55,000 fans packed Rogers Centre completely full in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for a record-setting crowd at the time. It was the first UFC event to take place in Ontario after the province legalized MMA and GSP vs. Shields was the main event. At the time, GSP was the biggest star in the sport while Shields was a credible title challenger coming from Strikeforce. It was expected to be a great main event but the fight didn’t deliver for fans.

Speaking to UFC.com a decade after the fight, GSP expressed remorse for not putting on a better fight for the fans, but he also wants people to remember he was badly eye poked.

“When the guy came to pick me up from my locker room to make the walk to the Octagon, I remember I went in the hallway and I saw how big the attendance was. It was amazing, I’ve never seen anything like this before for a fight, but it didn’t matter to me because I already I had in mind what I had to do. I wanted to go out there and give the fans a big knockout, but it didn’t matter. The pressure was because I put it on myself; I never let something from the outside, so to speak, try to interrupt my mindset. It was my fault if I put pressure on myself,” GSP said.

At UFC 129 I felt like I had a little extra pressure to perform, and I wanted to give the fans a big knockout and that’s what I wanted, but sometimes it’s not a good thing when you let your emotions take over. When you want the knockout, it doesn’t happen. It happens when you’re quick and loose. I think that’s one of the reasons it was a bad day in the office for me. I won, but it was a bad day, and I got an injury to the eye and I was blind for about half the fight. I won the fight, but I wish I would have given more to the fans,” said GSP.

What was your memory from GSP vs. Jake Shields at UFC 129?