UFC 129

UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[3]

UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields
The poster for UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields.
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateApril 30, 2011
VenueRogers Centre
CityToronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance55,724[1]
Total gate$12,075,000[1]
Buyrate800,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill

Background

The event was the sixth that the UFC has hosted in Canada and the first sanctioned mixed martial arts event in Ontario since the sport was legalized in the province in August 2010.[4] The Toronto event was originally titled UFC 131 by the promotion, but later changed to UFC 129 as its early 2011 schedule started to fall more firmly into place.[5]

A crowd of 55,000 filled Rogers Centre for UFC 129

It was the largest UFC event in North American history[6][7] and coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre.[8][9] UFC officials had originally planned for the Rogers Centre to be configured to hold 42,000 fans for UFC 129. The UFC put those tickets on sale to UFC Fight Club members in a special pre-sale on February 10, 2011, selling nearly all of them. They released and sold more tickets the following day to UFC newsletter subscribers in a second special pre-sale. UFC 129 then sold out when tickets went on sale to the general public on February 12, with officials scrambling to up the number of seats to 55,000.[10] Selling out all 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million,[11] the event shatters both MMA attendance and gate records in North America.[10]

John Makdessi was rumored to face Jonathan Brookins at the event; however, Makdessi instead fought Kyle Watson.[12]

In a conference call for UFC: Fight For The Troops 2 in January 2011, Dana White confirmed that UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo would defend his title against Mark Hominick on this card, provided that Hominick defeated George Roop.[13] White also stated that, regardless of the outcome of the Hominick/Roop fight, Aldo would still defend his Featherweight Championship at this event.[14] Hominick defeated Roop, via first-round TKO, to confirm his place as no. 1 contender, and solidify the bout with Aldo. After the bout, judge Doug Crosby made a mistake scoring the 5th round 10–8 in favor of José Aldo instead of Mark Hominick, making the final tally 50–43 for Aldo. A correction was made after the bout, and the correct score was 48–45 in favor of Aldo.[15]

Rory MacDonald was expected to face James Wilks at this event, but Wilks was forced from the card, and replaced by Nate Diaz.[16]

On February 11, it was announced that Matt Hamill will no longer fight Phil Davis at this event and will instead fight Quinton Jackson at UFC 130.[17] In a Twitter post, Davis said he was "sorry the fight had been removed from the website, and would be fighting in Toronto regardless."[18] Davis was expected to face Jason Brilz[19] until Tito Ortiz had to pull out of his UFC Fight Night: Seattle fight with Antônio Rogério Nogueira. Davis headlined that event against Nogueira,[20] while Brilz is now expected to fight Vladimir Matyushenko at this event.[21]

Brian Foster was expected to face Sean Pierson at this event, but Foster was forced out of the bout after a pre-fight MRI scan showed that Foster had a brain hemorrhage,[22] and was replaced by Jake Ellenberger.[23]

On February 27, 2011, it was revealed that two of the preliminary bouts would air on a Sportsnet card.[24] These bouts aired at a new time of 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT, as the UFC announced on March 5, 2011, that UFC 129 would be the first PPV to air live at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT.[25]

UFC Primetime returned to promote the St-Pierre/Shields title fight.[26]

On April 19, 2011, it was revealed that two of the preliminary bouts would air on a Facebook stream.[27] However, on April 21, the UFC instead announced that all of the prelims (except the two fights airing on Spike) would be on the Facebook stream.[28]

Results
Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Welterweight Georges St-Pierre (c) def. Jake Shields Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 48–47, 48–47) 5 5:00 [lower-alpha 1]
Featherweight José Aldo (c) def. Mark Hominick Decision (unanimous) (48–45, 48–46, 49–46) 5 5:00 [lower-alpha 2]
Light Heavyweight Lyoto Machida def. Randy Couture KO (crane kick) 2 1:05
Light Heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko def. Jason Brilz KO (punches) 1 0:20
Lightweight Benson Henderson def. Mark Bocek Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (Spike)
Welterweight Rory MacDonald def. Nate Diaz Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–26) 3 5:00
Welterweight Jake Ellenberger def. Sean Pierson KO (punches) 1 2:42
Preliminary card (Facebook)
Welterweight Claude Patrick def. Daniel Roberts Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Bantamweight Ivan Menjivar def. Charlie Valencia TKO (elbow and punches) 1 1:30 [lower-alpha 3]
Middleweight Jason MacDonald def. Ryan Jensen Submission (triangle choke) 1 1:37
Lightweight John Makdessi def. Kyle Watson KO (spinning back fist) 3 1:27 [lower-alpha 4]
Featherweight Pablo Garza def. Yves Jabouin Submission (triangle choke) 1 4:31 [lower-alpha 5]
  1. For the UFC Welterweight Championship
  2. For the UFC Featherweight Championship
  3. This bout aired on the broadcast following the Machida vs Couture bout.
  4. This bout aired on the broadcast following the St-Pierre vs Shields bout.
  5. This bout aired on the broadcast following the Matyushenko vs Brilz bout.

Bonus awards

Fighters were awarded $129,000 bonuses.[29]

  • Fight of the Night: José Aldo vs. Mark Hominick
  • Knockout of the Night: Lyoto Machida
  • Submission of the Night: Pablo Garza

References
  1. Stupp, Dann (May 1, 2011). "UFC 129 sets attendance and live-gate records: 55,724 for $12.1 million". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  2. http://mmapayout.com/blue-book/pay-per-view/
  3. "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields". ufc.com. January 20, 2011.
  4. "Ontario's First Sanctioned MMA Event Set for Saturday". mmafighting.com. March 30, 2011.
  5. Pishna, Ken (December 16, 2010). "UFC's Toronto Debut Re-Dubbed UFC 129; 2011 Schedule Falling In Place". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  6. Giri, Raj (December 7, 2010). "UFC 131 And Fan Expo Weekend Announced For Toronto In April". Fightline.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  7. "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields Set For 42,000 Fans at Rogers Centre in Toronto". mmaweekly.com. 2011-01-26.
  8. "Toronto To Host First-Ever Ontario Event on April 30". ufc.com. December 7, 2010.
  9. "UFC 131 official for April 30 at Rogers Centre in Toronto". mmajunkie.com. December 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012.
  10. "UFC 129 Sold Out, Shatters Records With 55,000 Tickets". MMAWeekly.com. February 12, 2011.
  11. Pishna, Ken (February 15, 2011). "UFC 129 Gate Receipts Total $11 Million, Eclipse Record". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  12. Marrocco, Steven (January 11, 2011). "John Makdessi meets Kyle Watson, not Jonathan Brookins, at UFC 129". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  13. Marrocco, Steven (January 11, 2011). "Hominick gets Featherweight Title shot with win over Roop at UFC Fight Night 23". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  14. "Jose Aldo official for UFC 129 slot; four additional contests set for Toronto". mmajunkie.com. January 20, 2010.
  15. Olshansky, Elliot (April 30, 2011). "UFC 129 Results: Jose Aldo's Fifth Round and the Mystery of the Changing Score". BleacherReport.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  16. "Nate Diaz meets Rory MacDonald at UFC 129". mmajunkie.com. January 14, 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012.
  17. "Matt Hamill Replaces Thiago Silva". mmajunkie.com. February 11, 2011.
  18. "Phil Davis Twitter Response". Twitter.com. February 11, 2011.
  19. Marrocco, Steven (February 16, 2011). "Jason Brilz and Phil Davis targeted for UFC 129 matchup". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  20. "Tito Ortiz out, Phil Davis faces Antônio Rogério Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24". mmajunkie.com. February 19, 2011.
  21. Stupp, Dann (February 21, 2011). "Jason Brilz meets replacement Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 129 in Toronto". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  22. Martin, Damon (April 12, 2011). "Brian Foster Out of UFC 129 After Pre-Fight Medical Reveals Brain Hemorrhage". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  23. "Jake Ellenberger replaces Brian Foster, faces Sean Pierson at UFC 129". mmajunkie.com. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
  24. "Sportsnet offers UFC 129 "UFC Prelims" special with Toronto show". mmajunkie.com. February 27, 2011.
  25. Chiappetta, Mike (March 5, 2011). "UFC 129 Moved Up One Hour; Change to All PPV Start Times Being Considered". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  26. Thomas, Nick (March 20, 2011). "UFC 129: St. Pierre vs. Shields Trailer". BloodyElbow.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  27. Erickson, Matt (April 19, 2011). "UFC 129 Expected to Again Utilize Facebook for Prelims". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  28. Martin, Damon (April 21, 2011). "All Five UFC 129 Prelim Fights To Air For Free On Facebook". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  29. Morgan, John; Stupp, Dann (May 1, 2011). "UFC 129 bonuses: Machida, Garza, Aldo and Hominick get $100K awards". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
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