Georges St-Pierre, red shorts, fought to a unanimous decision win over Jake Shields in the welterweight title bout at UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre on April 30 2011.(Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
It wasn't the classic finish the historic evening called for, but Georges (Rush) St-Pierre did do just enough to send the largest crowd in Ultimate Fighting Championship history home happy.
The Montreal mixed martial arts star successfully defended his welterweight title in front of more than 55,000 partisan fans in Toronto's Rogers Centre Saturday night, beating Jake Shields by unanimous decision.
St-Pierre finished the night in local hospital, suffering from blurry vision after a shot from the challenger in the second round.
"I can't see with my left eye right now. I just see a blur," St. Pierre told UFC announcer Joe Rogan after the bout. "I'm sorry to the fans. I wanted to make it a knockout or submission."
The building shook at St-Pierre made his way to the octagon, but there were few fireworks during the fight. St-Pierre, now 22-2, was content to stick with his jab and keep a safe distance for all five rounds to nullify Shields's strong jiu-jitsu. The challenger, who was on a 15-fight win streak dating back to 2005, had no answer for the champion's standup. The judges scored the bout 50-45, 48-47, 48-47.
UFC president Dana White announced a record gate of $11.5-million after the show, praising the city of Toronto for a successful week.
"Of course we're coming back," White said. "We'd be back next Saturday if we could. We proved we could pull off our first stadium show and we can do it again."
The co-main event stole the show as Thamesford, Ont., native Mark (The Machine) Hominick absorbed a tremendous beating from Jose Aldo as the Brazilian held on to his featherweight title by unanimous decision. Both fighters were awarded a UFC record $129,000 bonus for Fight of the Night.
Aldo was in control early, chopping away at Hominick's base with a number of cracking leg kicks and dictating the pace with a number of takedowns that left the challenger on the defensive.
Hominick was game, but Aldo - considered by many MMA observers to be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world - was quicker and stronger through four rounds. His left eye bloodied and with a grotesque hematoma on his forehead, the ring physician was called in to check Hominick twice, but let the fight continue.
Incredibly, Hominick managed to rally in the final round, seemingly energized by the crowd. He put the champion on his back early and pounded away until time expired, bringing the fans to their feet and leaving Aldo looking gassed and dazed.
The early deficit proved too great, with judges scoring the fight 50-43, 48-46 and 49-46 for Aldo, but Hominick drew a huge cheer for his courageous performance.
"First off, I just want to say to my wife that I hope I didn't put you into labour," Hominick, whose wife is due within a week, said after the fight. I know you're due any minute. I love you, babe and I hope that you're okay. And second, I just want to thank (referee) John McCarthy for not stopping the fight. I was never going to give up."
Hominick was also taken to hospital after the fight.
In the other big bout on the card, Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida ended the storied career of Randy (The Natural) Couture with a second-round knockout, landing a jumping front kick flush on the MMA legend's chin. Machida was awarded a $129,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for the move.
Couture, 47, a former three-time UFC heavyweight champion and two-time light-heavyweight champion, was cheered mightily by the crowd, but couldn't handle the Brazilian's speed.
Machida, who was on a two-fight losing streak, kept the MMA legend at safe distance early, scoring with jabs and a stiff kick to the ribs that prevented Couture from unleashing the ground-and-pound attack he helped make famous.
The kick early in Round 2 came out of nowhere, knocking teeth from Couture's mouth as he crashed to mat. When he finally did make it back to his feet the crowd erupted in a show of respect for the hall of famer.
"This is it," Couture told Rogan after the fight. "I think the last time we had this conversation I had all my teeth. He's a tremendous fighter. It felt like I was standing still out there, and he caught me with a great kick."
White confirmed Couture was also taken to hospital after his fight.
"He got his head kicked off," White said. "He thought he got hit with a punch."
The pay per view portion of the event opened with Ben (Smooth) Henderson beating Toronto's own Mark Bocek by unanimous decision. Henderson took control in the second round, splitting the top of Bocek's head wide open with a vicious knee. In the other fight on the main card, Vladimir (The Janitor) Matyushenko knocked out Jason (Hitman) Brilz just 20 seconds into the first round.
The UFC certainly but its stamp on the Rogers Centre, hanging huge screens around the top of the building to give fans in the 500 section a better look at the action. A massive cube of screens floated above the infamous octagon, accentuated by rigging and lighting fit for a rock concert. The stadium's famous Jumbotron screen at the north end was matched by another massive screen on the south side.
Canadian fighters had strong start to the night, winning five of the first seven matches In fights shown across Canada on Sportsnet, Rory (The Waterboy) MacDonald of Quesnel, B.C., ignored the constant jawing of brash California native Nate Diaz to win his welterweight bout by unanimous decision.
MacDonald, now 11-1, had the crowd chanting his name in the third round, twice lifting Diaz before slamming him to the mat.
"It was awesome. I definitely heard them when I hit the slams and then on the ground-and-pound," he said. "It was like a big wave of noise."
Sean Pierson of Pickering, Ont., wasn't so fortunate, losing to Jake Ellenberger after a left hook in the first round tagged him.
In early preliminary bouts shown on the UFC's Facebook page, lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi of Halifax knocked out Illinois native Kyle Watson with a devastating spinning back-fist in the third round. The move impressed White, who tweeted "That's gonna be tough to beat for knockout of the night!"
Makdessi, 9-0, said the win will push his career to the next level.
"I knew I hit him well, but I didn't know I knocked him out," he said. "I guess when you train that much, it's just a feeling to know when to use it."
Middleweight Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald of Red Deer, Alta., made a successful return to the octagon from a severe leg injury suffered at UFC 113 by submitting Ryan Jensen with a triangle choke in the first round.
"Once the door closes to the Octagon, you just hear the familiar voices - but the crowd was amazing, the atmosphere out there is amazing," MacDonald said. "To walk away with such a decisive win when I had all the cards stacked against me, I can't even put it into words."
Ivan Menjivar of Montreal beat Charlie Valencia in a bantamweight bout, breaking his nose with an elbow before mounting Valencia and reigning blows on him until the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Toronto welterweight Claude Patrick wrapped the first batch of fights by beating Daniel Roberts by unanimous decision.
Yves Jabouin, who fights out of Montreal, was lone Canadian to come up short early, losing to Pablo (The Scarecrow) Garza in a featherweight bout when he was forced to tap out to a triangle choke in the first round. Garza was awarded a $129,000 Submission of the Night bonus.