St. Pierre, Shields Greenlit for UFC 129

They stand at the heart of a sport, the welterweight champion and a challenger who has not lost a fight in more than six years. Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields are now in the home stretch.

St. Pierre (Pictured, file photo) tipped the scales at 169.5 pounds for his welterweight title defense against Shields (169) in the UFC 129 main event on Saturday at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The co-headliners, featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo (145) and top contender Mark Hominick (145) -- also met their contracted weight requirements without issue at Friday’s official weigh-in. Hominick's weight was originally announced as 145.25, but has been confirmed at 145.

Organizers expect to set a North American attendance record for a mixed martial arts event, as a reported 55,000 tickets have been sold.

The 29-year-old St. Pierre last fought at UFC 124 in December, when he throttled Josh Koscheck with his jab for five rounds en route to a lopsided decision at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Working on an almost unfathomable streak of 30 consecutive rounds won, St. Pierre has come under increasing fire for his supposed inability to finish opponents, as his past three fights have reached the judges. Still, he carries with him one of the sport’s most enduring resumes, anchored by wins over hall of famer Matt Hughes (twice), former two-division champion B.J. Penn (twice), American Kickboxing Academy’s Jon Fitch, American Top Team’s Thiago Alves, one-time UFC lightweight king Sean Sherk and former International Fight League welterweight titleholder Jay Hieron. A St. Isadore, Quebec, Canada, native, St. Pierre has rattled off eight straight wins and holds a stellar 15-2 mark inside the UFC. He has avenged the only two defeats of his career.

Shields made his promotional debut at UFC 121 in October, when he defeated Martin Kampmann by split decision at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cesar Gracie, he has held major titles in two weight classes and will carry a 15-fight winning streak into the match. The 32-year-old owns wins over top middleweight contender Yushin Okami, one-time WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit, former two-division Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Dan Henderson and UFC veterans Robbie Lawler and Paul Daley. In 31 professional appearances, Shields has been finished only once -- all the way back in 2000.

UFC 129 -- which airs live on pay-per-view at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT -- also features a light heavyweight duel pairing Lyoto Machida (204.5) with hall of famer Randy Couture (203.5), a lightweight tilt pitting former WEC champion Benson Henderson (156*) against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Mark Bocek (155) and a light heavyweight battle matching Jason Brilz (204.5) with former International Fight League champion Vladimir Matyushenko (205.5). An hour prior, Spike TV will carry a pair of preliminary bouts, as “The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner Nate Diaz (171) meets once-beaten Canadian prospect Rory MacDonald (170.5) and Sean Pierson (170) collides with Jake Ellenberger (170).

In addition, the UFC will stream the remaining five fights on its Facebook page at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT in an unprecedented move: Claude Patrick (169.5) vs. Daniel Roberts (170.5), Ivan Menjivar (136) vs. Charlie Valencia (135.5), Jason MacDonald (185) vs. Ryan Jensen (185), John Makdessi (155.5) vs. Kyle Watson (155) and Yves Jabouin (146) vs. Pablo Garza (145).

UFC 129 “St. Pierre vs. Shields”
Saturday, April 30
Rogers Centre
Toronto

UFC Welterweight Championship
Georges St. Pierre (169.5) vs. Jake Shields (169)

UFC Featherweight Championship
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Mark Hominick (145)

Lyoto Machida (204.5) vs. Randy Couture (203.5)
Jason Brilz (204.5) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (205.5)
Benson Henderson (156*) vs. Mark Bocek (155)
Nate Diaz (171) vs. Rory MacDonald (170.5)
Jake Ellenberger (170) vs. Sean Pierson (170)
Claude Patrick (169.5) vs. Daniel Roberts (170.5)
Ivan Menjivar (136) vs. Charlie Valencia (135.5)
Jason MacDonald (185) vs. Ryan Jensen (185)
John Makdessi (155.5) vs. Kyle Watson (155)
Yves Jabouin (146) vs. Pablo Garza (145)

* Benson Henderson made weight on his second attempt.