UFC 129 makes history in Toronto, Saturday night
Posted May 1, 2011 9:10 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – It was a night to remember for the more than 50,000 mixed martial arts fans that attended that Rogers Centre Saturday night.
They witnessed the biggest UFC pay-per-view event in North America. UFC President Dana White told 680News that he was thrilled with the results.
“A lot of planning went into this thing. I told you guys that this was going to be different than any other event.”
“I am pretty proud of what we did and I love this place. The fans here are incredible. It has been a great experience,” said White.
White said the success of this event meant a lot to him. “We have had a lot of milestones throughout the last ten years and this is a big one. I was very excited for this fight, I felt like we delivered.”
“We pulled off our first Canadian show and I feel like we can do it again,” said White.
White told 680News that he wants to return to Toronto soon. “Of course we are coming back! We would be back next Saturday if we could.”
The event made over $11-million. Twelve fights took place, with seven Canadians winning their matches.
In the double main event, Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defended his title with a unanimous decision over contender Jake Shields, who struggled to bring St-Pierre to the mat.
The Canadian legend dominated Shields from the opening bell, scoring many powerful blows while standing.
In the co-main event Canadian fighter Mark Hominick was battered by featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
Hominick showed a lot of heart in the fight, but was unable to overcome the strikes of Aldo, which left him bruised and bloodied.
“It was unbelievable, I will never forget it,” said a fan who felt like he witnessed history.
