The 10 | Most Memorable UFC Moments in Canada

Honestly, this is probably the most important single moment in Canadian MMA history.

UFC 83 marked the promotion’s first trip to Canada, and St-Pierre was poised to become a massive star in the sport, but he needed this win in order to get there. As much as he was a significant favorite and expected to beat Matt Serra, the same held true ahead of their first meeting in Houston a year earlier and that went terribly for the French-Canadian.

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That wasn’t the case here.

St-Pierre dominated, finishing Serra with menacing knees to the body in the final minute of the second round, unifying the welterweight titles and kicking off his historic reign atop the 170-pound weight class. He went on to become an absolute icon in the sport, and Canada quickly became a hotbed for UFC events and MMA activity, and it feels safe to say that this result helped pave the way for it all.

Rich Franklin stop Chuck Liddell, with a broken arm (UFC 115 — Vancouver)

Originally scheduled to be a third meeting between long-time rivals Liddell and Tito Ortiz following their time coaching opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter, Franklin tagged in for Ortiz on the long-running reality TV competition when the former light heavyweight champion withdrew with an injury.

Liddell was in the twilight of his career, having dropped consecutive bouts to Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua, but had taken the previous year to get into tremendous shape, in hopes of beating Ortiz once again and showing that he still had something left in the tank. Franklin was his usual consistent self, having remained a constant main event presence while bouncing between divisions and serving as a quality measuring stick every time out.

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“The Iceman” started well and looked sharp, but Franklin remained game and continued to hunt. In the waning moments of the opening round, Liddell crashed forward, landing a short elbow as the two broke, only for Franklin to connect with a left hand as he looked to follow up. 

Liddell crashed to the floor and the fight was immediately halted. As he stood in the center of the Octagon awaiting the official result being announced, Franklin stood with his left arm taut, revealing he’d suffered a break earlier in the fight. 

As the main event of the first card in Vancouver, this was an incredibly memorable way to close out the show, with one tenured veteran shutting down another, marking the end of Liddell’s UFC career. 

A Spectacle at SkyDome (UFC 129 — Toronto) 

This whole event was incredible; I’ve written about it here a couple times in the past.

It’s impossible to explain what it looked like walking into what is officially Rogers Centre early in the day as everything was still being set up, then watching more than 55,000 people file in later in the day before the action kicked off. It was one of those moments that was going to be a big deal regardless of how things played out inside the Octagon, but, as is often the case, the athletes rose to the moment and brought the goods for the UFC’s first appearance in Toronto.

Pablo Garza kicked off the show with a flying triangle choke submission win. John Makdessi followed with a spinning back fist knockout that would make Shonie Carter proud. Five of the first seven fights ended inside the distance and Canadians went 5-1 on the prelims. After the main card kicked off with a Benson Henderson win, Vladimir Matyushenko followed with a 20-second knockout win over Jason Brilz before Lyoto Machida crane kicked Randy Couture’s tooth into the front row, sending “The Natural” into his one and only lasting retirement.

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In the co-main event, Mark Hominick (and the alien growing on his forehead) rallied to push Jose Aldo down the stretch of their featherweight title clash, doing tandem pushups alongside one another following the end of the bout before St-Pierre cruised to victory over Jake Shields in the main event.

I’ve been to a lot of great events and been lucky enough to witness some incredible fights, but in 15 years of covering this sport, nothing has topped this, and I doubt anything ever will. 

Frank Mir defeats Minotauro (UFC 140 — Toronto)

Normally when we’re going through a list like this, I recommend that people go back and watch the fights that are discussed, either as a refresher or first-time experience.

Doing so here is not for the faint of heart.

The veteran heavyweights, who had coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter and battled each other for the interim title a few years earlier, met for a second time in Toronto. It was a grinding battle along the fence to start before Nogueira put Mir on skates with clean shots in space. The Brazilian dove on a guillotine choke attempt, but couldn’t finish, giving Mir a chance to sweep into top position.

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In the ensuing scramble, the American clamped onto a kimura, throwing his right leg over Nogueira’s head and wrenching on the hold, the two men doing a full rotation on the ground, Mir never relinquishing his grip. As they came to a halt, Mir on top, he torqued the hold further, and Nogueira’s arm popped.

This was an outstanding finish, but one that still makes me flinch when I see it, even though I know what’s coming.

Ryan Jimmo’s Electric Debut (UFC 149 — Calgary)

The late Ryan Jimmo lost his first pro fight in 2007 before collecting 16 consecutive victories fighting across Canada, establishing himself as one of the top talents competing outside the UFC at the time.

When the promotion announced its debut in Calgary, “The Big Deal” was signed and added to the card in a matchup with Australian veteran Anthony Perosh. Having spent the last several years of his career dominating and building a following under the MFC banner, it made total sense, and Jimmo went out and made the absolute most of it.

The fight started, they touched gloves as Jimmo came forward, and the first overhand right he threw landed flush, sending Perosh crashing to the canvas. A follow-up shot found a home before the referee could step in and officially stop the fight, prompting Jimmo to sprint around the Octagon, elated.

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Then he walked to the center of the cage and did his signature “Robot” celebration, ending in a full split, blowing kisses to the equally elated crowd.

A seven-second knockout win in your long-awaited promotional debut is the kind of moment that has to be celebrated here.

Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson Collide (UFC 165 — Toronto)

Even though history is riddled with instances where a preemptive dismissal of a fight has proven disastrous, people still brushed this one off as non-competitive and nothing more than another successful Jones title defense long before they’d even hit the Octagon. 

What we got instead was an instant classic — a five-round battle between the two best light heavyweight on the planet at the time.

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Gustafsson pushed Jones harder and further than anyone had to that point and has since, frankly, genuinely hurting him on multiple occasions and forcing “Bones” to dip into his rich talent stores to find a way to win. It was one of those fights where the momentum shifted multiple times, even within rounds, and left everyone watching gobsmacked. 

It was rightfully inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing in 2020, and remains the gold standard for championship fights in the light heavyweight division.

“Hi Mom!” (TUF: Nations Finale — Quebec City)

With just over 50 seconds remaining in the second round of his TUF: Nations finale clash with fellow Canadian Sheldon Westcott, Elias Theodorou took a momentary pause from beating up his compatriot, looked straight into the camera, and said hello to his mother, who was undoubtedly watching at home in Mississauga.

This moment was classic Theodorou and still makes me smile every time I think about it, in part because it allows me to remember my friend, who I miss, but also because it was the kind of cute little moment we don’t often get in MMA.

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We’ve had people ape for the camera and showboat before — “Hello Japan!” anyone? — and a few years later, Khalil Rountree Jr. shouted at his mom in a moment where things weren’t going his way, but Theodorou was in complete control and took a second to showcase his playful personality just a few seconds before putting the finishing touches on a victory.

Theodorou passed following a battle with colon cancer in September 2022 at the age of 34, having kept his illness private. He was a very good fighter and an even better person who made you smile every time you interacted with him, and the MMA community lost an absolute gem when he left us. 

Cub Swanson and Dooho Choi Create Beautiful Violence (UFC 206 — Toronto)

While I was trying not to have too many repeat moments on this list, it was impossible not to include this Hall of Fame fight here.

UFC 206 was a bit of a weird one, as the original main event with Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson came apart two weeks before the show, with a few other bouts being shuffled and changed up and down the card, as well. It was one of those cases where expectations were down heading into the December return to Toronto, but once the action got underway, no one was thinking about the changes to the lineup.

And this fight was a big reason why.

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Swanson and Choi teamed up to deliver another instant classic in the Ontario capital, one that would eventually join Jones and Gustafsson in the Hall of Fame. For 15 minutes, they fired heaters at one another, connecting frequently in both directions, leaving the crowd unable to catch its breath. 

The roar these two received when the final horn sounded and they both exhaled was deafening, and while Swanson was the one to get his hand raised, there were no losers in this one.

Tristan Connelly’s Improbable Hometown Debut (UFC Fight Night 158 — Vancouver)

Connelly was a staple of the West Coast MMA scene by the time the UFC made its way back to Vancouver in the fall of 2019, having amassed a 13-6 record competing on an alphabet soup of shows around the province.

He’d been doing as much coaching than fighting at that point, but earned a pair of wins earlier in the year to push his winning streak to five, and when word got out that Michel Pereira was in need of an opponent for the show at Rogers Arena at the end of the week, Connelly raised his hand and got the fight, giving him the chance to compete at home on the biggest stage in the sport.

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And then he went out and earned himself a victory, successfully navigating Pereira’s antics and explosiveness to claim a unanimous decision win. As an added bonus, the bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors, and with the enigmatic Brazilian missing weight, Connelly pocketed the entire bonus.

Not bad for a night’s work on five days’ notice.

Amanda Nunes Retires (UFC 289 — Vancouver)

When I spoke with Nunes a couple days before her fight with Irene Aldana in Vancouver, I specifically asked her if she was going to hang up her gloves with a victory. She’d effectively cleaned out the bantamweight division, had established herself as the greatest female fighter of all time — and one of the best ever, regardless of gender — and with her wife Nina expecting their second child, the moment felt right. 

She said no, dominated Aldana, and then called it a career, dancing around the Octagon with her daughter Raegan.

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At her post-fight media availability, Nina smiled at me and told me not to take her deception personally — “She lied to everyone” she said, laughing — as “The Lioness” basked in the glow of her win and reflected on her incredible career. As the night was wrapping up, I got to share a moment with Nunes in the bowels of Rogers Arena, laughing with her as I gave her grief for her deception and thanking her for all the great fights and incredible conversations we’d shared over the years. 

It remains one of my favorite moments of my career, though I have a feeling it will be usurped later this year when Nunes goes into the UFC Hall of Fame and we get to chat once more.