3. Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields
Even today, UFC 129 remains the biggest show the promotion has ever put on. UFC 100 sold more pay-per-views and had more star power, but UFC 129 on April 30, 2011 set records for both gate revenues and attendance at an MMA show in North America, and nothing has ever matched the sheer visual effect of 55,000 cheering fans packed into an enormous stadium.
Canadian hero St. Pierre, however, was the real attraction here. After dominating the division for more than three years, GSP had run out of homegrown challengers, and the promotion poached Strikeforce middleweight champion Shields to serve as his foil. Shields’ first UFC appearance had hardly been auspicious -- he took a narrow decision from Martin Kampmann that many felt he had lost -- but the UFC went ahead with the title fight and invested heavily in selling the wrestle-grappler as a legitimate challenger to the throne. On the “Primetime” series leading up to the bout, St. Pierre’s jiu-jitsu coach, John Danaher, repeatedly highlighted the threat of Shields’ chokes, referring to them as “knockout punches” that could strike at any time.
The actual fight was devoid of anything resembling real action. GSP was determined to avoid engaging Shields on the ground and settled for jabs, low kicks and winging overhand rights that failed to make much of a dent on the incredibly durable American. In response, Shields shot terrible takedowns from too far outside and tapped away with his low-powered kickboxing. He also did his best to gouge out St. Pierre’s eyes, repeatedly dragging his fingers across the Canadian’s face in a manner that could easily be called intentional.
The result was horrendous. Despite the nationalistic love for GSP, fans streamed to the exits while the fight was still going, and far less than the full 55,000 in attendance stuck around to hear the scorecards read in St. Pierre’s favor.
Number 2 » It is unclear precisely how it happened, but the American suffered a devastating shoulder injury that involved both a dislocation and simultaneous fracture. It was an unexpected and shocking end to a hyped fight.