He Said What?! UFC Fight Night 29 'Maia vs. Shields' edition

UFC Fight Night 29: "Maia vs. Shields," which took place at Ginasio Jose Correa in Barueri, Brazil, is officially in the books after an evening of solid fights broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 this past Wednesday night (Oct. 9, 2013).

See our full results and live play-by-play here.

Jake Shields edged Demian Maia in a fight that was filled with grappling and groundwork, earning the split decision victory while remaining undefeated in 2013 (watch highlights here).

Going into the final frame, many pundits had it two rounds a piece, as Shields got the better of Maia in the fifth round and left Brazil the victor, as the Brazilian faithful was quite upset with the end result.

Dong Hyun Kim blasted Erick Silva with a counter-left hand, sending the Brazilian crashing down on the mat hard and unconscious in the second round. "Stun Gun" picked up his first knockout victory since his time with DEEP in 2007 and moves up the welterweight ranks (watch highlights here).

Rousimar Palhares defeated Mike Pierce in familiar fashion, submitting his opponent by ankle hook in just over 30 seconds; however, the controversy was that Palhares cranked onto the submission when the referee told him to break -- something he has done before.

He was not awarded a post-fight bonus but instead, is under investigation.

Before all the action unfolded inside the Octagon, there were promotional appearances to generate awareness for -- and interest in -- a trip back to Brazil for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Fighters said this and that, answering questions galore when all they really wanted to do is be left alone and not be bothered.

MMAmania.com does a pretty good job of passing along all the noteworthy pre- and post-fight comments for each event. But, as we've done before, let us look back at the words that left the fighters mouths before they stepped into the cage on Wednesday night.

"Jake is the toughest jiu-jitsu guy I've ever fought, so I'm curious to see how we're going to do. Everybody that I fight always avoids jiu-jitsu. I don't think Jake will do that, so it's interesting for me. The pressure is much bigger now, but at the same time I'm more comfortable."

--Demian Maia praised his foe ahead of their main event showdown and thought highly of his submissions skills. It looks as if Maia was dead on about Shield's jiu-jitsu, who gave Maia the most trouble on the ground than anyone has ever given him in his mixed martial arts career.

"I would rather have taken the fight in the U.S., but my job is to fight wherever I'm told to fight. I've been through it so much. I think the Brazilians are a little louder and a little more hostile. They might yell a little bit and scream things like ‘You're going to die,' so that's not like Canada. But, ultimately, it's not going to make much of a difference."

--Jake Shields was unfazed by the downpour of boos he received for his main event performance against Maia and with all due respect to the winner, he must be used to it based on his fighting style. No matter how vocal the Brazilians were, it not did have any affect on Shields and his desire to win.

"I changed my training camp, I changed my team, I changed everything. Everything changes. I feel faster, I feel like I have more endurance and even stronger. Everyone must be prepared, because they will see a new Rousimar Palhares."

--Actually, we saw the exact opposite -- the same Rousimar Palhares -- who shows up, comes out of the gate and takes his opponent's leg home with him and eats it for breakfast the next morning. We also saw the same old Palhares, who kept the submission on Mike Pierce longer than he needed to, with the American tapping almost 10 times and Palhares being a repeat offender when it comes to holding on for too long.

"There was that one clear, obvious cheat where Palhares held it when the referee told him to let go and he got fined by a commission (UFC 111). Then recently, he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels, so this guy is definitely a cheat. There's no surprise. He'll do anything to win because he's either desperate or an asshole."

--Those are some eerily ironic words from Mike Pierce, who complained about Palhares' ways of not breaking up the submission when the fight was being called off and that is exactly what happened last night, as well. It remains to be seen if Palhares will be disciplined for his actions.

As for the fight itself, Pierce lost fair and square.

"I came in here to break the plans. People expect a lot from Erick because he's a fan favorite -- but I don't."

--Dong Hyun Kim had strong words when talking about his opponent and there was not much hate or animosity behind that statement -- they were the words of a confident young man. Kim indeed did break the plans, and Silva's face in the process, with a second-round knockout out of nowhere that left "Indio" out cold on the canvas.

There you have it.

For our complete UFC Fight Night 29: "Maia vs. Shields" live story stream, click here.