GSP to retain at UFC 129 and Couture to cause upset

There are doubters that Georges St-Pierre will lose his UFC welterweight title against Jake Shields at UFC 129, but his superior striking and conditioning can see the champion retain.

GSP has already made five successful title defences and is 1/4 in the UFC odds that he secures another by beating Shields.

Shields has not lost for almost seven years and certainly has displayed the heart in the past that may be necessary to come back from a GSP onslaught.

It is 3/1 that Shields wins and much will come down to whether he has the cardio to match GSP over five championship rounds.

Therefore, 9/1 may be a good price that the fight ends in the fourth round, which may be the time that GSP really begins to dominate.

Elsewhere on the card, Randy Couture is the underdog at 11/4 in the UFC betting to beat Lyoto Machida and there are reasons to suggest that this is a big price.

Couture is popular in Canada with his team based in Toronto and he will certainly have the crowd advantage.

This could put added pressure on Machida, who will already have to contend with the weight of facing arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time in what is expected to be his last bout.

Machida, who is 2/7 to land victory, may also be impacted by fragile confidence having lost his last two fights, which includes a knockout and the loss of his UFC light-heavyweight title.

With Couture always approaching his fights with a well-thought gameplan and Machida being particularly dangerous with his feet, there is a strong chance that the fight fails to go the distance, which is available at 3/4.

A £30 stake on St-Pierre stopping Shields in round four would return £330. New customers can sign up here for a free £30 bet.