UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Conor McBragger
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields. April 30, 2011. Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The first UFC event in Ontario. The first UFC stadium event. 55,724 fans attended, the largest crowd in UFC North American history. The live gate exceeded $12 million, a new UFC record. Georges St-Pierre retained the Welterweight Championship against Jake Shields by unanimous decision across five rounds.
Georges St-Pierre suffered an eye injury early in the fight and competed with significantly impaired vision for the majority of the contest. He dropped Shields twice but could not finish him. At the conclusion, 55,000 fans who had welcomed him like a returning hero booed the result.
José Aldo retained the Featherweight Championship against Mark Hominick over five rounds. Hominick developed a massive hematoma on his forehead in round one and fought the rest of the fight with a visible growth above his left eye. Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Machida stopped Randy Couture with a crane kick in round one. It was Couture’s last professional MMA fight. Rory MacDonald defeated Nate Diaz by unanimous decision in front of his home crowd.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Quick Stats
3. The Build-Up
4. Main Event
5. Co-Main Event
6. Full Results
7. Bonuses & Awards
8. Records & Milestones
9. Legacy & Impact
10. FAQ
11. References
Quick Stats
Date: April 30, 2011
Venue: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (first UFC in Ontario; first UFC stadium event)
Attendance: 55,724; Gate: $12,000,000 (records at the time for UFC)
Main Event: Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Jake Shields — UFC WW Championship (5 rounds)
Result: GSP def. Shields — UD — R5, 5:00 — GSP fought with poked/injured eye; crowd booed post-fight
Notable: Aldo def. Hominick (alien hematoma); Machida crane kick KOs Couture (Couture’s last fight); Rory MacDonald def. Diaz UD
The Build-Up
Georges St-Pierre had never fought in a stadium before. Rogers Centre was reconfigured from 42,000 to 55,724 capacity after ticket demand overwhelmed initial allocation. GSP’s cultural importance in Canada, and Ontario in particular, meant the event sold out immediately once tickets went on general sale. UFC Primetime returned for the build-up.
Main Event
Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Jake Shields — UFC WW Championship
Georges St-Pierre had Shields’ fingers in his eye early in round two. His vision was significantly affected for the remainder of the fight. He dropped Shields twice with strikes and controlled the wrestling exchanges, but could not finish the damaged challenger. Shields had elite submission defence and an undefeated record against top-ten WW competition.
Georges St-Pierre won all five rounds clearly on the scorecards. As the decision was announced, the crowd that had brought stadium-level noise to greet him booed. The reaction was one of the most jarring in UFC stadium history.
Co-Main Event
José Aldo (c) vs. Mark Hominick — UFC FW Championship
Aldo landed a knee in round one that created a hematoma above Hominick’s left eye. By the end of round one, the hematoma had grown visibly. Over five rounds, Hominick fought with a protrusion on his forehead that became one of the most discussed images in MMA history. Aldo won clearly on all three scorecards. Hominick was never finished.
Full Results
Preliminary Card
Benson Henderson def. Mark Bocek — Submission — R? — LW
Jake Ellenberger def. Sean Pierson — TKO — R1 — WW
Phil Davis def. Vladimir Matyushenko — TKO — R1 — LHW
Nate Diaz loses to Rory MacDonald — UD (WW; MacDonald dominates with suplexes and wrestling; home crowd)
Main Card
Lyoto Machida def. Randy Couture — TKO (Crane Kick) — R1 — LHW; COUTURE’S LAST MMA FIGHT
José Aldo def. Mark Hominick — Decision (Unanimous) — R5, 5:00 — FW Championship; Hominick hematoma; Co-Main
UFC WW Championship (5 rounds) — Main Event
Georges St-Pierre def. Jake Shields — UD — R5, 5:00 — GSP injured eye; dropped Shields twice; couldn’t finish; 55K fans booed
Bonuses & Awards
Fight of the Night: José Aldo vs. Mark Hominick — $70,000 to each fighter.
Sub of the Night: Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture — $70,000 to Machida.
KO of the Night: Jake Ellenberger vs. Sean Pierson — $70,000 to Ellenberger.
Records & Milestones
55,724 fans — largest UFC crowd in North American history at the time; Rogers Centre, Toronto.
$12 million live gate — UFC record at the time of the event.
Randy Couture's last MMA fight — TKO’d by Lyoto Machida’s crane kick in round one; Couture was 47 years old.
Mark Hominick’s hematoma — one of the most recognisable images in UFC history; developed in round one and grew through five rounds.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 129 changed what the UFC understood to be possible for crowd size. A 55,000-seat stadium in a market where Ontario had only recently legalised MMA sold out within minutes. Georges St-Pierre's cultural standing in Canada was the instrument; the UFC was the beneficiary. The post-fight booing was the uncomfortable coda — an audience expressing dissatisfaction with a dominant performance from their own champion.
Randy Couture's final fight — stopped by a crane kick at 47 years old — was an appropriate way for one of the sport’s most durable champions to exit. He had competed for 15 years and won titles at two weight classes. Machida’s kick to end the career was clean, direct, and sudden. Couture never fell to a weary defeat; he was stopped in the first round.
FAQ
Was UFC 129 the largest UFC event ever?
At the time, UFC 129 was the largest UFC event in North American history with 55,724 fans and a $12 million gate. The record for overall UFC attendance was later surpassed by UFC 193 in Melbourne in November 2015.
Why did the UFC 129 crowd boo Georges St-Pierre?
GSP won all five rounds by decision but could not finish Jake Shields despite dropping him twice and fighting from a position of dominance. The crowd, which had welcomed GSP with massive enthusiasm, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a stoppage. GSP had been fighting with an injured eye for most of the bout.
What happened to Mark Hominick's forehead at UFC 129?
Aldo landed a knee in round one that created a hematoma above Hominick's left eye. Over the next four rounds, the hematoma grew visibly and became one of the most discussed images in UFC history. Hominick was never finished and completed all five rounds.
Was UFC 129 Randy Couture's last fight?
Yes. Lyoto Machida stopped Randy Couture with a crane kick in round one of their LHW bout at UFC 129. It was Couture's last professional MMA fight. He was 47 years old.
Was UFC 129 the first UFC event in a stadium?
Yes. UFC 129 at Rogers Centre in Toronto was the first UFC event held in a stadium configuration. The building was reconfigured from its standard 40,000+ baseball capacity to 55,724 for the event.
References
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