The 10 | The Best Fights on Canadian Soil

The first main event on Canadian soil was a massive one, carrying massive championship stakes and a little bad blood as well.

Serra had upset St-Pierre a year earlier in Houston, stunning the French-Canadian champion to claim the welterweight title and register the biggest upset in UFC history. A back injury delayed their rematch, resulting in GSP beating Matt Hughes for an interim title, before this championship unification bout was installed as the headline attraction for the UFC’s initial foray to Montreal.

The Long Island native played the villain role perfectly, referring to St-Pierre as “Frenchy” and telling him to go drink some wine, with the beloved local boy serving, as always, as the quintessential babyface.

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Once they stepped into the Octagon, it was all business, and all St-Pierre, as he blew through Serra to earn a measure of revenge and begin a second term as the undisputed UFC welterweight champion. He went on to have the longest reign in the division’s history and one of the most successful championship runs of any fighter, ever, defending the title nine times before walking away for several years prior to returning to claim the middleweight title at UFC 217.

And it all started in his adopted hometown of Montreal.

Carlos Condit def. Rory MacDonald (UFC 115 — Vancouver)

This one was wild, and the boos that rained down at the end were deafening.

A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, MacDonald was making just his second UFC start after earning a first-round submission win over Mike Guymon in his promotional debut. He was 10-0 and filled with promise, fighting as close to home as he would ever come prior to his relocationto Montreal and fighting in Ottawa. Condit was just two fights into his UFC run, but fully established as a contender following a strong title run in the WEC and quality bouts with Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger to begin his time competing inside the Octagon.

MacDonald dominated early, taking the fight to the Albuquerque native and setting the crowd at GM Place (now Rogers Arena) alight. Through the first 10 minutes, it felt like the local kid was going to earn a massive victory and catapult himself into contention straight away, but Condit began to rally back early in the third, turning the joy into hesitation, and a collective wishing that the time would tick off the clock a little quicker.

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As the bout hit the final minute, MacDonald was hanging on by a thread and Condit was in full “Natural Born Killer” mode, taking it to his inexperienced opponent, advancing into mount in search of a finish. With just a handful of seconds remaining, the barrage became too much for referee Kevin Dornan’s liking, and he stepped in to wave it off, causing the partisan crowd to get loud and angry.

It was an outstanding fight and an instant indicator of how good MacDonald was, as well as the right call by the referee, despite the opinion of the masses in attendance.

Jose Aldo def. Mark Hominick (UFC 129 — Toronto)

The UFC’s first trip to Toronto was a colossal affair.

UFC 129 took place at what I will forever call SkyDome, with more than 55,000 people in attendance, massive screens posted throughout the venue to make it easier for those in the nosebleeds to see the action, which seemed miles away in the cavernous baseball stadium. The co-main event featured Aldo defending his featherweight title for the first time in a clash with Hominick, who was fighting in his home province for the first time in his career, just a handful of days before his wife was set to give birth to their first child.

There was a Hollywood ending element to it all — a “how cool would it be if Hominick could pull it off, winning the title in his homecoming, then racing to the hospital with his pregnant wife?”

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For the first four rounds, Aldo was having none of it. The Brazilian legend took the fight to his counterpart from London, Ontario, displaying the speed, quickness, and all-around elite skills that made him a dominant force atop the division while leaving Hominick sporting the worst hematoma anyone has ever seen in the UFC prior to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her first bout with Zhang Weili.

But as Aldo began to fade in the final round, Hominick continued to push, leading to moments where the Canadian had everyone thinking something magical might happen. He worked from top position, trying to pound out the finish as the largest crowd in UFC history (at the time) tried to vocally will him to victory.

The final horn sounded and Hominick fell short, but it was still a Hollywood ending; Rockyrather than Rocky II.

Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez (UFC 152 — Toronto)

The inaugural UFC flyweight champion was decided on a September Saturday in “The Big Smoke,” with Johnson and Benavidez facing off after having earned victories in their respective semifinal matchups over Ian McCall and Yasuhiro Urushitani.

Benavidez was the prohibitive favorite to claim the title when the 125-pound weight class was first announced after having established himself as a Top 3 bantamweight. Johnson, who had fought Dominick Cruz for the 135-pound title in his final bout before dropping down, needed two tries to get by McCall, after a scoring error in Australia prevented their competitive first bout from going to a “sudden death” fourth round as it should have.

This was a tremendously competitive fight between the two men who would stand as the gold and silver standard in the division for the first seven or eight years of its existence; both having positive moments, neither giving an inch. Where some split decision verdicts feel janky and inexplicable, this was one where it felt absolutely legitimate, as the margins between Johnson and Benavidez over the course of five hard-fought rounds were exceptionally small.

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“Mighty Mouse” emerged victorious, landing on the happy side of the split, and would go on to author one of the greatest championship reigns in UFC history, holding the title for 2,142 days, successfully defending the belt a record-setting 11 times. Benavidez would rebound and enjoy an outstanding career of his own, winning three straight to earn a rematch with Johnson, then posting a 9-1 mark over his next 10 starts before the next wave of the division finally caught up to him.

This is one of the forgotten classics from the pre-Rousey, pre-McGregor heyday of the promotion, and definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it before.

Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165 — Toronto)

The first of two Hall of Fame fights on this list, very few people anticipated this one being as memorable and eventful as it was leading into things. In fact, most expected a blowout, dismissing the challenger’s chances long before the two met and stood opposite one another inside the Octagon.

Jones was five fights into his dominant reign atop the light heavyweight division, having most recently stopped Chael Sonnen five months earlier at UFC 159. Gustafsson was the unquestioned No. 1 contender, having earned six straight wins, capped by a dominant showing against former champ “Shogun” Rua in Seattle at the end of the previous year, but few expected the long, rangy Swede to present much of a challenge for “Bones.

Those folks were wrong; dead wrong.

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Gustafsson took the fight to Jones from the outset and forced the champion to rally in order toretain his title. He became the first person to take Jones down inside the Octagon, and left him lumped up by the time the final horn sounded. But Jones did rise to the occasion, displaying his greatness by finding the right shots at the right time, including a spinning back elbow that shifted things in his favor late in the fourth round, allowing him to complete the comeback win.

This was an incredible fight — an instant classic in the truest sense — and a rightful inductee into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame. 

Cub Swanson def. DooHo Choi (UFC 206 — Toronto)

Swanson’s aim every time he steps into the Octagon is to create “beautiful violence” and he and Choi did that on a cold, dreary December night at Air Canada Centre in 2016, not only earning Fight of the Night honors, but also claiming Fight of the Year before being enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2022. 

This is one of those fights where the 30-27 scores are misleading, as they often prompt people to conjure images of one-sided contests, and this was anything but.

Both men landed hellacious blows. Both men were rocked at various points in the fight. Neither was looking to back down, which led to a tremendous series of exchanges where both were swinging with vicious intent, leaving the crowd in Toronto short of breath because of the sheer number of high points and “ooh and aah” moments.

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This is the high point of Choi’s UFC career, which was subsequently shortened by his mandatory military service and multiple injuries, though the now 34-year-old “Korean Superboy” is currently riding a three-fight unbeaten streak. For Swanson, it was a moment thataffirmed his standing as one of the top all-action fighters of his era and became the positive touchstone moment his career had been missing up to that point.

These are the kinds of fights that stick with you in a “where were you when” way, and if you haven’t seen it — or haven’t watched it in a while — you should remedy that soon.

Steve Bossé def. Sean O’Connell (UFC Fight Night 89 — Ottawa)

While a bunch of the fights on this list carried championship stakes and were seminal moments in the careers of established names and contenders alike, this was — and I say this with all due respect to the men involved — an old-fashioned donnybrook between two brawlers that absolutely stole the show in the nation’s capital.

Bossé earned a reputation scrapping in the semi-pro Ligue Nord-Américaine du Hockey (LNAH), which is basically a fighting league where hockey is sometimes played, too, eventually making a full-time transition to MMA and rattling off six straight wins to get a call to the Octagon. O’Connell was a journeyman from Utah who ran his record to 15-4 with six straight wins to earn his place on the UFC roster, having fully established himself as a fan favorite and action-oriented battler well ahead of this contest.

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Having been stationed on media row for this one, I can tell you with all assurances that this was an electric contest that had everyone at TD Place Arena in Ottawa losing their minds. These two wonderful lunatics spent the full 15 minutes swinging hammers at one another, both men tucking their chins, planting their feet, and trying to knock the other out with every right and left that was launched.

And it’s wild that neither man was knocked out because when I say they were swinging hammers, I mean they were swinging gigantic, concrete-busting sledgehammers, and connecting at a 50-percent clip and landing nearly a hundred blows each.

Amanda Nunes def. Valentina Shevchenko (UFC 215 — Edmonton)

If you want to start an argument within your MMA friend group, declare with full confidence that one of these individuals won this fight definitively and then start counting to 10. If you make it to four before someone starts to push back, I’ll be impressed.

Nunes and Shevchenko first met at UFC 196 when both were still working forward in the bantamweight ranks; the former having earned back-to back wins over Shayna Baszler and Sara McMann, while the latter had out-hustled Sarah Kaufman in her promotional debut the previous December. Nunes earned the victory in a fight where she began flagging in the third round, prompting most to feel like a longer fight favored Shevchenko.

Nunes claimed the title in her next bout, then walloped Ronda Rousey to close out her breakthrough 2016 campaign, with Shevchenko posting victories over Holly Holm and Julianna Pena to establish herself as the No. 1 contender. The rematch was originally set to headline International Fight Week 2017, but Nunes withdrew the morning of the fight, citing sinus issues, adding more tension to things.

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They finally shared the Octagon for a second time in Edmonton, battling back-and-forth for 25 minutes in a fight that was too competitive for words. All three judges arrived at 48-47 scores, but only one round was scored unanimously by the officials, with Nunes taking the opener across the board before things got varied. 

Shevchenko (and her loyalists) were confident she had done enough. Nunes (and her side) believed they would hear “And Still” and the title would remain hers. The beat between Bruce Buffer drawing out “And” and delivering the next part of that important two-piece felt like an eternity (and likely more for the combatants) before “Still” was uttered and Nunes erupted in celebration. 

Dustin Poirier def. Eddie Alvarez (UFC on FOX 30 — Calgary)

This one makes the list based on the tension that percolated between the standout lightweights in the build to this rematch.

Poirier and Alvarez initially faced off at UFC 211, with the bout ending in a no contest after Alvarez landed an illegal knee to the head of Poirier while he was downed. The bout was halted, Alvarez was critical of Poirier not continuing, and the seeds of a rematch were immediately sown. 

It took over a year for them to work back around to one another, with each earning a win over Justin Gaethje in between, which became another point of contention between the two. Alvarez was the first to defeat the new arrival, finishing him at UFC 218, while Poirier followed suit four months later in Arizona. Even the Fight Week moments between the two around Calgary were tense, and once they stepped in opposite one another, they got after it from the hop, both eager to prove their superiority.

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Poirier was clearly the better man that night, dispatching Alvarez in the final minute of the second round as he continued on his march towards challenging for the lightweight title; the first bout between the two now feeling like a real turning point moment for “The Diamond” as he embarked on an outstanding second chapter (third chapter) in the UFC.

Ramon Taveras def. Serhiy Sidey (UFC 297 — Toronto)

Whenever I build lists like this, there is always one inclusion that carries the “one for me” tag — a deserving addition that holds a little more interest or significance to me — and this is that one here.

Taveras and Sidey had fought in the fall on Dana White’s Contender Series, with Taveras starting well, but getting stopped by the Burlington, Ontario native a few minutes later. Many debated the stoppage, arguing that the referee was in a little early, which led to Taveras getting a second chance later that season, garnering a win and a contract, and setting up this rematch in Toronto.

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The sequel started in a similar fashion as the original, with the Florida native flashing quickness and precision with his hands, touching up Sidey and leaving him leaking crimson. But as the fight progressed, the local newcomer began to find his footing and rally, taking the fight to Taveras, landing well and working back into the fight despite looking like a bloody mess.

When the final horn sounded, it was difficult to say who had won: Taveras started well, but slowed in the second half, while Sidey’s arc was the opposite, leaving opinions split. The judges were in the same position, returning a 2-1 verdict in favor of Taveras, bringing the UFC rookies even in their personal series while instantly establishing each of them as entertaining additions to the 135-pound ranks.