UFC 129 asks who is better, Canada or U.S.?

UFC 129 is more than a record-breaking MMA event that will pack 55,000 into the Rogers Centre in Toronto to see two championship belts decided. It's also a face-off between American and Canadian fighters to decide which country is better. Cagewriter breaks it down for you. Which North American country does it better?

GSP vs. Shields: Everything is going for GSP. He's fighting in front of a home crowd, he's at the height of his hype and he's considered invincible, which is exactly why I don't think he'll win. If Shields gets it to the ground, GSP is in trouble. Advantage: Shields and the U.S.

Signature food -- poutine vs. pizza: Poutine, french fries top with cheese curds and brown gravy, sounds amazing. However, pizza -- a food with an ancestor in Italy but that is singularly American -- is much better. It is customizable, yummy when hot and cold, can be made to look like Yoda and everyone loves it. Advantage: U.S.

Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson: BenHen needs to erase the memory of being on the wrong end of the Anthony Pettis highlight reel. That incentive is enough to get the former WEC champ the win. Advantage: Henderson and the U.S.

National anthems -- "O Canada" vs. "The Star-Spangled Banner": The U.S. national anthem, when sung well, can tear the house down, but it's not easy for an average person to sing.  That's not true of "O Canada." During the Vancouver Olympics, Canadians showed how easy it was to sing their anthem. Advantage: Canada

National animal: For America, it's the bald eagle, a strong, proud bird that can pick off prey from a mile away. Canada's, which can seen on the header of the new Yahoo! Sports Blog, The Eh Game, is the beaver. Advantage: the U.S.

Nate Diaz vs. Rory McDonald: Does Canada have a Stockton equivalent? Nah The baddest fighters come from Cali, not Quebec. Advantage: U.S.

Other sports: Well, Canada did just win a figure skating world championship and the Canucks knocked my Blackhawks out of the playoffs, and they won the gold medal in both men's and women's hockey at the Vancouver Olympics. Canadians also excel at curling. Outside of that, America rules. Football, baseball, basketball -- I'll take Derrick Rose over Steve Nash -- we're better. We'll give you hockey, Canada. We'll take the rest. Advantage: U.S.

Other fights: On the other UFC 129 Canada vs. U.S. fights, my picks are Makdessi, Patrick, Jabouin for Canada and Ellenberger, Valencia, Jensen for the U.S.

The final tally: America wins, 8-4.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-129-asks-who-is-better-Canada-or-U-S-?urn=mma-wp1650

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VIDEO: Dana White's UFC 129 video blog part two

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Dana White's second video blog for UFC 129 is now live, and the new blog provides a perspective on the layout of the Rogers Centre for Saturday night, and sees White get mobbed by fans in Toronto as he gives tickets away for the event through Twitter. Check it out below:

App Users Click Here For Video: http://youtu.be/g9q1HK8GESY

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9190.shtml

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Live News & Notes From Last Night?s RAW Event

Thanks to Nick Bazar for sending in this report: * I was live at the show tonight; here are some thoughts? * There is a good mix of kids and adults in the crowd. Also, there are quite a few older (retro) shirts here as well. * There are a ton of balloons strapped to the ceiling for tonight’s birthday bash. * Lots of USA and “Cena Sucks” chants. * In a DARK match, Chris Masters defeated Primo with the Masterlock. * In a SUPERSTARS match, Beth Phoenix defeated Melina. Towards the end, Melina lost a ...

Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2011/05/live-news-notes-from-last-nights-raw-event/

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Jones vs. Evans: Xtreme Couture coach Melanson would love to work with Rashad

The opinions are swirling on who comes out on top when Rashad Evans and Jon Jones step into the Octagon. The former teammates are on a collision course after Evans decided to leave, the only team he's known, Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque. Evans, who will challenge Jones for his UFC light heavyweight title, is training with camps in both Denver and Florida.

When we stopped by Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas to talk about this teammate versus teammate thing, the grappling coach Neil Melanson surprised us by saying he'd like to get Evans to Vegas.

"I feel my style of coaching is perfect for him," Melanson said (3:15 mark). "He's a wrestler and I've got a lot of experience with the wrestlers here. I think I can help him. He's really good already, but I would like to see him finish and I know he can finish on the ground."

From talking to some folks around Xtreme Couture it sounds like Jones' favorite status at minus-500 is a bit out of whack. Plenty of folks think he's got a good shot at taking the strap from the phenom.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Jones-vs-Evans-Xtreme-Couture-coach-Melanson-w?urn=mma-wp1446

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UFC may stay in Canada forever: White ticket tweet giveaway turns into near riot

Dana White thinks big, but he never saw this coming. Before each event the UFC president gives away his last tickets via Twitter. His 1.4 million-plus followers watch for #Hunt4UFC tweets, then have to meet him in a matter of minutes at specific locations. We've seen one of these ticket grabs go down in person at a place like Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Within minutes, a few dozen people arrive to grab a 20 or so tickets.

Watch what happens in Toronto when White tweets that he'll be at Dundas Square.

Within 45 seconds, dozens arrive (2:55 mark). The crowd eventually swells to what looks like 500-plus fans. It's a scary, but impressive scene. Canadians love their MMA.

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-may-stay-in-Canada-forever-White-ticket-twe?urn=mma-wp1684

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Garza lands possible Sub of the Night; Makdessi set the mark for KO of the Night in UFC 129 openers

That's the way to start out the biggest MMA event in North American history. Pablo Garza flashed some impressive jiu-jitsu by executing a flying triangle. Garza caught Yves Jabouin in the submission and finished it on the ground to up his first UFC victory at 4:31 of the first round.

John Makdessi followed that up with an even more spectacular spinning backfist knockout of Kyle Watson. Watson caught the left hand on the chin, went down in a heap and slammed his head against the mat at 1:27 of the third round. He was actually unconscious for a few minutes following the knockout.

UFC 129 sold 55,000 tickets at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Media members on the scene report that the building is about half full with another five and half hours of fighting on the way.

Garza-Jabouin and Watson-Makdessi were the first two of five fights being streamed on the UFC Facebook page. There's a long way to go, but Garza and Makdessi certainly themselves in the mix for a postfight bonus.

The UFC hands out bonuses for Knockout of the Night, Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night. The promotion awarded record $100,000 bonuses at UFC 100. With a UFC-record gate in excess of $11 million, one can only guess how massive tonight's bonuses might be.

UPDATE: UFC analyst Joe Rogan confirmed the bonuses will be $129,000 each.

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Garza-lands-possible-Sub-of-the-Night-Makdessi-?urn=mma-wp1774

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