Follow the action at UFC 129 in Toronto here. This page will be updated throughout the evening.

TORONTO — In front of the biggest crowd in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, Georges St-Pierre expects the biggest challenge of his career.

The reigning welterweight champion puts his title on the line Saturday night at the historic UFC 129, with more than 55,000 fans jamming into the sold-out Rogers Centre for the company’s debut event in Ontario.

“People have no idea how dangerous this guy is for my title,” said St-Pierre (21-2).

“I strongly believe that if I would put Jake against any of the contenders that I have fought before, Jake would have won the fight. So that’s why when I say that (for) this fight the bar is raised higher than it’s ever been before, I’m not lying about it.”

St-Pierre has won seven-straight matches over a four-year span. Along the way, he’s won 30-straight rounds, an unheard of stat in MMA. Shields, in significantly less spotlight, has won a whopping 15 consecutive bouts over the last five years, claiming titles in both Strikeforce and Elite XC.

“I don’t want to be a paper champion. I want to be a real champion and to be a real champion I need to fight the best contender like Jake Shields,” said St-Pierre.

Followers of the sport have long felt Shields is perhaps the only fighter in the welterweight division who can beat St-Pierre.

“Fighting GSP is something I wanted for years. I’ve been asking for it for about four years. … I want to test myself against the best and I think he certainly is the best,” said Shields. (26-4-1).

“I’m bringing the belt home with me.”

In other pay-per-view matches at UFC 129:

• The childhood dream of Mark Hominick came oh-so close to becoming reality.

The Thamesford, Ont. native survived a vicious beating through four rounds of his featherweight title bout versus Jose Aldo. The doctors twice nearly stopped the match, largely because of a golf-ball-sized hematoma on Hominick’s forehead. But in the fifth round, Hominick almost pounded Aldo out. He had him mounted for roughly three minutes, the drama building with each second passing on the clock. In the end, however, Aldo held on via unanimous decision in one of the most dramatic contests of 2011.

Though he didn’t leave with the title on Saturday, Hominick does have another prize coming soon — his first child, who is set to enter the world any minute.

“I hope I didn’t put you into labour,” said Hominick (20-9) in the cage following the match.

“I know you’re due any minute, babe. I hope you’re OK.”

The judges were all over the map, scoring the match 48-45, 48-46 and 49-46 in favour of Aldo, considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

“I’ve got to take my hat off and give congratulations to Mark Hominick. He’s a hell of a fighter,” said Aldo (19-1).

“He went five rounds and gave it his all.”

• It wasn’t the fairytale ending Randy Couture and his fans hoped for.

The UFC Hall-of-Famer, and former champion in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions, couldn’t go out on top in what he declared his retirement match, win, lose or draw. Instead, he was laid out flat on his back by a vicious front kick from Lyoto Machida, one that looked almost exactly like the crane kick made famous by Daniel Larusso in The Karate Kid.

The finish came out of nowhere at 1:05 of the second round in their light heavyweight bout. As soon as the crowd realized what happened, they rose as one and gave a deafening send-off to one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.

“It was a dream to fight this guy,” said Machida (17-2), who was so excited about the win he sprinted out of the cage door before being brought back in.

“He’s a hero.”

A clearly-emotional Couture (minus one tooth courtesy the kick) thanked the crowd and confirmed that he indeed was hanging up the gloves.

“It felt like I was standing still out there,” said Couture (19-11).

• In less time than it took him to walk to the cage, veteran Vladimir Matyushenko (26-5) made quick work of Jason Brilz (18-4-1).

Landing a right-left combination and finishing Brilz with three hammerfists on the mat, Matyushenko delivered after saying he wanted a big finish.

“Feeling great,” said Matyushenko. “Sometimes I do what I promised.”

• Winning the battles wherever they took place, former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champ Ben Henderson (13-2) made his UFC debut a successful one, earning a unanimous decision over Woodbridge, Ont., native Mark Bocek (9-4).

In stand-up exchanges, Henderson overwhelmed with knees and elbows. On the mat, Henderson avoided submission attempts and scored points from top and bottom.

“I’m ready for everything, dude,” said Henderson.

In preliminary matches at UFC 129:

• Rory MacDonald (11-1) got a rousing standing ovation from more than 55,000 fans after a highlight-reel victory over Nate Diaz (13-7) in a welterweight bout.

Rory MacDonald put an exclamation point on the win in the third round, suplexing and slamming Diaz to the mat like it was a pro wrestling match, the crowd roaring louder with each successive move. In the end, two judges scored the match 30-26 while the third had it 30-27.

“I’m on top of the world,” said the 21-year-old Kelowna, B.C. native with a smile.

“It was awesome. I definitely heard them when I hit the slams and then on the ground-and-pound. It was like a big wave of noise.”

• Jake Ellenberger (25-5) lived up to his ‘Juggernaut’ nickname, needing just 2:42 to knock out Toronto’s Sean Pierson (11-5) in a welterweight match he took on 16 days notice.

“There’s so many people, it’s hard to stay relaxed in there. I didn’t know I caught him until he went down,” said Ellenberger of the left hand that finished Pierson.

“He was jabbing and then I just caught him with the hook.”

Ellenberger might have suffered some damage, however. As he was leaving the cage, he said to a ringside official, “I think I broke my hand.”

• In the first match of the night to go the judges, Claude Patrick (14-1) earned a unanimous decision over Daniel Roberts (12-2) in a welterweight contest.

All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favour of the Toronto native.

“It was a long time in the making. I never thought it would be possible. It was an honor to perform in front of my hometown crowd,” said Patrick.

• Known by many for a famous loss, Ivan Menjivar now has a memorable win on his resume.

The Montreal native, remembered mostly for losing to St-Pierre in GSP’s pro debut a decade ago, used a vicious elbow and ground-and-pound to finish Charlie Valencia (12-7) at 1:30 of the first round in their bantamweight bout.

“I was born in El Salvador but then I came here and now I represent both countries. I’m very proud to be here,” said Menjivar (22-8), who shattered Valencia’s nose with a left elbow in tight quarters.

“From the clinch we were kneeing each other and then by reflex I threw my left elbow and connected. That spun him and then I followed him to the ground and that was it.”

• Almost one year to the day after suffering a gruesome broken leg at UFC 113, Jason MacDonald (26-14) made a successful return to the octagon, submitting Ryan Jensen (16-7) at 1:37 of the first round in their middleweight match.

MacDonald had a triangle on Jensen, who tried to powerbomb his way out of it. That slam only locked the choke in tighter, and Jensen was forced to tap.

“Words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now,” said MacDonald.

“Once the door closes to the Octagon, you just hear the familiar voices, but the crowd was amazing, the atmosphere out there is amazing. 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.”

• In as spectacular a knockout as a fan could ever hope to see, Montreal native John Makdessi (9-0) faked a kick and then threw a spinning left backfist that put Kyle Watson (16-8-1) to sleep before he even hit the mat.

Makdessi, following the win at 1:27 of the third round in their lightweight bout, roared along with the crowd, soaking up every moment inside the cage.

“Every day I train in the gym and dream about fighting in front of a big crowd,” said Makdessi.

“I’ve been training since I was six years old. This is a dream come true.”

• Pablo Garza (12-1) opened the night in brilliant fashion, locking in a flying triangle and forcing Montreal’s Yves Jabouin (14-7) to tap out to a choke at 4:31 of the opening round.

“I thought my last fight was a trip but this was mind blowing. … I was a little jittery. The biggest crowd I ever fought in front of was a couple thousand. This was like ‘Holy (expletive).’ It took a while to concentrate on the fight,” said an ecstatic Garza.

He noted with a grin that he felt the finish deserved the bonus cheque given out after each UFC event for submission of the night. “Dana White, gimme my money,” he said.

Yves Jabouin vs. Pablo Garza

Yves Jabouin
Nickname: “Tiger”
Record:15-6
Finishes: 12
Finished: 4
Notable Wins: Brandon Visher

Pablo Garza
Nickname: “The Scarecrow”
Record: 10-1
Finishes: 8
Finished: 1
Notable Wins: Fredson Paixao

I am looking for Garza to come out quick and win this one by KO in the late first.

John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson

John Makdessi
Nickname: “The Bull”
Record: 8-0
Finishes: 6
Finished: N/A
Notable Wins: Bendy Casimir, Pat Audinwood

Kyle Watson
Nickname: N/A
Record: 13-6
Finishes: 12
Finished: 3
Notable Wins: Sako Chivitchian

The Canadian Makdessi has great stand up and takedown defense, I look for him to keep this one standing and win this one by decision.

Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen

Jason McDonald
Nickname: “The Athlete”
Record: 23-14
Finishes: 21
Finished: 9
Notable Wins: Bill Mahood, Shannon Ritch, Anthony Rea, Joe Doerksen twice, Gideon Ray, Ed Herman, Chris Leben, Rory Singer, Jason Lambert, Solomon Hutcherson, Vernon White, Matt Horwich,

Ryan Jensen
Nickname: N/A
Record: 15-7
Finishes:15
Finished: 7
Notable Wins: Jesse Forbes, Steve Steinbeiss, Rob Kimmons, Tyrone Roberts, Travis Fulton.

MacDonald is the better all around fighter in this one, I look for him to come out, score a takedown and ground and pound his way to a TKO victory in the late first or early second.

Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia

Ivan Menjivar
Nickname: “Pride of El Salvador”
Record: 21-8
Finishes: 16
Finished: 2
Notable Wins: Aaron Miller, Hideo Tokoro, Joe Lauzon, Mike French, Jeff Curran,

Charlie Valencia
Nickname: N/A
Record: 12-6
Finishes: 6
Finished: 5
Notable Wins: Akitoshi Tamura, Coty Wheeler, Seth Dikun, Ian McCall, Antonio Banuelos

An interesting fight, Menjivar is making his return to the UFC banner and Valencia is making his UFC debut. I am taking Valencia to win this battle by decision two round to one.

Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts

Claude Patrick
Nickname: “The Prince”
Record: 13-1
Finishes: 12
Finished: 0
Notable Wins: Ricardo Funch, James Wilks

Daniel Roberts
Nickname: “Ninja”
Record: 12-1
Finishes: 9
Finished: 1
Notable Wins: Greg Soto, Mike Guymon, Forrest Petz, Anthony Macias,

Another fight that should go back and forth, both guys are pretty equally matched up. I think that Roberts will be able to out wrestle Patrick and win this one by decision.

The following two fights are going to be the Spike TV card.

Sean Pierson vs. Jake Ellenberger

Sean Pierson
Nickname: N/A
Record: 11-4
Finishes: 10
Finished: 3
Notable Wins: Steve Vigneault twice, Fabio Holanda, Ricky Goodall, Matt Riddle

Jake Ellenberger
Nickname: “The Juggernaut”
Record: 24-5
Finishes: 20
Finished: 1
Notable Wins: Carlos Eduardo Rocha, John Howard, Mike Pyle, Pat Healy, Jose Landi-Jons, Zach Light, Ryan Stout, Gil Castillo, Laverne Clark,

Ellenberger is coming off the war against Rocha that showed me a lot about him, he has a ton of heart and made an outstanding comeback after being dominated in the first round. He should continue his hot streak and win this one by KO in the first.

Nate Diaz vs. Rory McDonald

Nate Diaz
Nickname: N/A
Record: 13-6
Finishes: 12
Finished: 1
Notable Wins: Marcus Davis, Rory Markham, Melvin Guillard, Josh Neer, Kurt Pellegrino, Alvin Robinson, Junior Assuncao, Manny Gamburyan

Rory McDonald
Nickname: “The Waterboy”
Record: 10-1
Finishes: 10
Finished: 1
Notable Wins: Mike Guymon

Despite the fact that McDonald is favored in this fight, I am taking Diaz to pull the upset by out striking McDonald and finishing him with a choke in the early third.

•  

  Saturday, April 30, 2011

   

  Live from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• ON PAY-PER-VIEW AT 9 P.M ET/6 P.M. PT

  GEORGES ST-PIERRE vs. JAKE SHIELDS

  JOSE ALDO vs. MARK HOMINICK

  RANDY COUTURE vs. LYOTO MACHIDA

  VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO vs. JASON BRILZ

  MARK BOCEK vs. BEN HENDERSON

   

  ON SPIKE TV AT 8 P.M. ET/5 P.M. PT

  NATE DIAZ vs. RORY MACDONALD

  SEAN PIERSON vs. JAKE ELLENBERGER

   

  ON FACEBOOK AT 6 P.M./3 P.M. PT

  CLAUDE PATRICK vs. DANIEL ROBERTS

  IVAN MENJIVAR vs. CHARLIE VALENCIA

  JASON MACDONALD vs. RYAN JENSEN

  JOHN MAKDESSI vs. KYLE WATSON

  YVES JABOUIN vs. PABLO GARZA

   

• Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos Named TUF 13 coaches
• Strikeforce Grand Prix fights will be 3 rounds, all non-title fights.
• UFC holds a press conference in New York City making another push for the legalization of MMA in the state.  They projected a $23 million revenue from two annual UFC events.
• Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar III planned for UFC 130 on May 28
• Wanderlei Silva’s return fight will be against Brian Stann in the Spring
• Phil Baroni signs w/ Titan Fighting Championships
• Bellator officially announces more fighters for their season 4 tournament although MMA Sun has uncovered a majority of the participants before they even become official. (Bellator Season 4 Tournament Brackets)
• UFC Champion Cain Velasquez undergoes surgery on his torn rotator cuff.  He is expected to be sidelined 8-10 months
• UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is out until summer following hand surgery this week
• Ulysses Gomez has been released from Bellator because he wants to fight exclusively at flyweight (125 lbs.)

Event Announcements:

• TUF 13 Finale – June 4, 2011 – Las Vegas, NV
• UFC 131 – June 11, 2011– Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Fight Announcements:

• Gian Villante vs. Chad Griggs  (HW Reserve Bout) -Strikeforce – February 12, 2011
• Antonio McKee vs. Drew Fickett – MFC 28: Supremacy  – Feb. 25
• Dan Henderson vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante – Strikeforce 32 – March 5
• Erik Koch vs. Cub Swanson – UFC on Versus 3 – March 3
• Dongi Yang vs. Rob Kimmons – UFC on Versus 3 – March 3
• Igor Pokrajac vs. Todd Brown – UFC on Versus 3 – March 3
• Matt Riddle (For Mark Scanlon)  vs. Matt Brown – UFC on VS 3 – March 3
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Rafael Assuncao – UFC 128 – March 19
• Dennis Hallman vs. T.J. Waldburger – UFC Fight Night 24 – March 26
• Leonard Garcia vs. Name Phan II – UFC Fight Night 24 – March 26
• Michael McDonald vs. Nick Pace – UFC Fight Night 24 – March 26
• Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick (If Hominick beats George Roop) – UFC 129 – April 30
• John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson (Not Jonathan Brookins) – UFC 129 – April 30
• Brock Lesnar vs. Junior Dos Santos – UFC 131 – June 11, 2011
• Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida – UFC 131 – June 11, 2011
• Shane Carwin vs. TBA – UFC 131 – June 11, 2011

Main card:

George St-Pierre def. Josh Koscheck by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

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Stefan Struve def. Sean McCorkle by TKO (punches) Round 1 (3:55)

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Jim Miller def. Charles Oliveira by submission (kneebar) Round 1 (1:59)

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Mac Danzig def. Joe Stevenson by KO (punch) Round 1 (1:54)

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Thiago Alves def. John Howard by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Preliminary card (UFC.com live stream)

Dan Miller def. Joe Doerksen by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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Mark Bocek def. Dustin Hazelett by submission (triangle choke) Round 1 (2:33)

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Preliminary card:

Jesse Bongfeldt and Rafael Natal fought to a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-29)

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Sean Pierson def. Matt Riddle by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

——————————————————————————————————

Ricardo Almeida def. TJ Grant by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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John Makdessi def. Pat Audinwood by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

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UFC 124 Predictions Results: I was 85-62-1 coming in and was hoping for that break out performance yet again I went for an upset or 2 and didn’t get it. I came out even at 5-5-1. I wanted to go with the obvious Thiago Alves but I smelt upset but it didn’t happen. I will bounce back soon. My total now is 90-67-2.

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Bonus awards: (Fighters were awarded $100,000 bonuses.)

Fight of the Night: Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

Knockout of the Night: Mac Danzig

Submission of the Night: Mark Bocek, and Jim Miller

Main card:

Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

Prediction: GSP by TKO

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Heavyweight bout: Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle

Prediction: Struve by TKO

——————————————————————————————————

Lightweight bout: Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira

Prediction: Miller by Unanimous Decision

——————————————————————————————————

Lightweight bout: Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig

Prediction: Stevenson by Submission

——————————————————————————————————

Welterweight bout: Thiago Alves vs. John Howard

Prediction: Howard by KO

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Preliminary card (UFC.com live stream)

Middleweight bout: Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller

Prediction: Doerksen by Unanimous Decision

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Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett

Prediction: Hazelett by Submission

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Preliminary card:

Middleweight bout: Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Rafael Natal

Prediction: Bongfeldt by TKO

——————————————————————————————————

Welterweight bout: Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson

Prediction: Riddle by Split decision

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Welterweight bout: TJ Grant vs. Ricardo Almeida

Prediction: Almeida by Submission

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Lightweight bout: Pat Audinwood vs. John Makdessi

Prediction: Makdessi by TKO

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