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Georges St-Pierre was the original Montreal icon for the UFC. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
The UFC returns to the Bell Centre in Montreal this weekend for UFC 315 after a decade-long absence. It is the promotion’s eighth visit to Montreal, but its first since UFC 186 in 2015.
Saturday's pay-per-view features two title fights, with Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight belt against Manon Fiorot in the co-main event, followed by Belal Muhammad’s first welterweight defense against Jack Della Maddalena in the headliner.
Canada currently ranks third all-time behind the United States and Brazil in number of UFC events hosted with 34, which means "The Great White North" is a significant market for the company. Of those 34, Montreal will take pole position over Toronto after this weekend for Canadian cities that have hosted the most events. Montreal was also the first Canadian home to ever welcome a UFC event — it actually held the first four Canadian UFC events before Toronto got its inaugural one in 2011. But while the promotion has returned to Toronto three times since 2015, it hasn’t shown Montrealers the same love.
Part of the reason for that absence can certainly be attributed to the retirement of Georges St-Pierre in 2013 (and then again in 2017). Prior to that, the former two-division champion headlined four of the seven events that took in Montreal; yet without its homegrown superstar active, the UFC had less of a reason to return. While that still holds true as the hiatus comes to an end — no Canadian fighter on today's UFC roster approaches the star potential of St-Pierre — several promising Canucks are set to compete on Saturday's card nonetheless, led by Mike Malott, Aiemann Zahabi and Jasmine Jasudavicius.
So join me, a born and bred Montrealer, as we take a trip down memory lane and look back at the roller-coaster 17-year history of the UFC descending upon my hometown. For each card, we're detailing the main event, an outstanding undercard performance as well as the Canuck performance of the night.
Let's dive in.
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Georges St-Pierre got his revenge against Matt Serra atop the UFC's debut trip to Canada. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC 83 — April 19, 2008
Attendance: 21,390
Main Event: Georges St-Pierre TKOs Matt Serra at 4:45 of Round 2
Record of Canadians on the card: 4-4
Finishes: 9/11
Headlined by the rematch between St-Pierre and Serra, the first UFC event to take place on Canadian soil set the record for the fastest sellout in company history and eclipsed the previous attendance record of 19,049 from UFC 68. Considering all the anticipation surrounding the promotion's grand arrival up north, St-Pierre had the perfect opportunity for redemption in front of his hometown fans.
The first St-Pierre vs. Serra meeting had taken place at UFC 69 in Houston, where Serra’s hands shockingly stopped the champion St-Pierre in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. Showing resilience, St-Pierre rebounded from that devastating loss by beating Josh Koscheck and then stepping in for an injured Serra against Matt Hughes. In their trilogy fight, St-Pierre submitted Hughes via armbar to win the interim welterweight title, setting up a highly anticipated unification fight with Serra.
And redemption is exactly what St-Pierre achieved, as he executed a wrestling-heavy game plan to take Serra down and force the referee to step in and rescue a tired and battered Serra after a bevy of knees to the midsection, allowing St-Pierre to reclaim the undisputed UFC title in front of his adoring fans.
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Cain Velasquez's vast potential was obvious from the start at UFC 83. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: Making his Octagon debut, Cain Velasquez showed no UFC jitters whatsoever by clinically annihilating Brad Morris in the first round. Even though wrestling was the two-time NCAA All-American's forte, Velasquez showed off the crisp and powerful boxing skills that soon helped him rattle off a dominant seven-fight win streak that culminated with winning the UFC heavyweight title in 2010.
Canuck of the Night: Also in his UFC debut, Alberta’s Jason “Dooms” Day used an array of punches in close range to stun and overwhelm a young Alan Belcher in the first round. The grizzled Canadian veteran upset Belcher, who was 3-2 in the UFC and riding a two-fight winning streak. Day’s win is even more impressive in hindsight as Belcher would compete in the UFC for another five years, going 6-3 and only losing to top contenders.
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Anderson Silva's baffling performance against Thales Leites was not the outcome many expected at UFC 97. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
UFC 97 — April 18, 2009
Attendance: 21,451
Main Event: Anderson Silva def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision
Record of Canadians on the card: 4-2
Finishes: 5/12
Making his fifth middleweight title defense against Leites, who was 5-1 in the UFC, Silva easily won a shutout decision in a lackluster bout that was met with boos throughout. "The Spider" dominated, repeatedly stuffing Leites’ takedowns and using his vastly superior striking to befuddle Leites on the feet.
Leites routinely flopped to the mat, desperately pleading for Silva to join him on the ground in grappling exchanges, but Silva was too smart for that and routinely forced Leites to stand back up, where his fellow Brazilian was at a clear disadvantage. As the fight wore on, Silva grew visibly frustrated and impatient with Leites’ tactics and began experimenting with all sorts of unorthodox stances, movement and strikes to get Leites to open up. But nothing worked — and the risk-averse Leites was content to survive rather than go for broke in an attempt the wrest the title away.
Silva’s win over Leites represented a forgettable stretch during his legendary title reign, being sandwiched between similarly uneventful wins over Patrick Cote and Demian Maia.
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data-uuid="335fd74b-71fd-3cdb-b4bf-9216ae10cd6f"/>Mauricio "Shogun" Rua knocked out Chuck Liddell in a battle of living legends. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua knocked out an aging Chuck Liddell in the first round, courtesy of a leaping left hook followed by ground-and-pound. It was the second of three consecutive knockout losses for the legendary "Iceman," whose mobility and punch resistance had by then sharply declined after a long career in the sport. Rua’s knockout win over Liddell set him up for his first UFC title shot against light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
All-Canadian Canuck of the Night: Ontario’s Sam Stout and American Mitt Wiman engaged in a three-round back-and-forth brawl that was awarded Fight of the Night. After an evenly contested first round, Stout had his best moment in the second, dropping Wiman with a body shot/head kick combination. The third round belonged to Wiman due to his wrestling and control, but in the end the judges awarded Stout with the unanimous decision.
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data-uuid="bfa58ab4-02a3-36ca-828a-7fcfcb0f0916"/>Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's crowning UFC moment came in Montreal. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
UFC 113 — May 8, 2010
Attendance: 17,647
Main Event: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua KOs Lyoto Machida at 3:35 of Round 1
Record of Canadians on the card: 1-6
Finishes: 5/11
Lyoto Machida and "Shogun" Rua collided for the first time at UFC 104 in Los Angeles, where Machida retained his light heavyweight title by controversial decision. Most observers thought Rua won clearly though, as he badly damaged Machida with his arsenal of kicks.
Given the disputed nature of their first fight, an immediate rematch was the logical next step — and in the second go-round, Rua left no doubt, knocking Machida out in the first round. Rua clipped Machida with a right hand on the top of the head that dropped him, then finished the job with vicious ground-and-pound from mount, becoming UFC champion for the first and only time.
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Paul Daley's post-fight theatrics against Josh Koscheck earned him a UFC ban for life. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: In an instantly infamous bout, Josh Kosheck beat Paul Daley by unanimous decision thanks to his dominant wrestling and top control. The fact that Koscheck relied on his superior wrestling skills to avoid the dangerous strikes of Daley was not surprising; what was surprising was that after the final bell, a clearly frustrated Daley threw a blatantly late left hook at Koscheck. The American ultimately saw it coming and got his guard up so the punch didn’t land clean, but the egregious foul resulted in Daley getting cut from the UFC and banned for life.
Canuck Performance of the Night: This award is an easy one as Joe Doerksen was the only Canadian winner on the card. Although Doerksen was a veteran of over 50 pro fights compared to Tom Lawlor’s eight, the Winnipeg native had only won once in his previous six UFC appearances. And Doerksen had to work for it, getting dropped and battered in the first round by Lawlor. “El Dirte” showed toughness and guile to weather the storm while landing enough strikes to keep Lawlor honest, then in the second round Doerksen defended a Lawlor takedown, took his back and sunk in the surprising rear-naked choke.
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Georges St-Pierre made an example of Josh Koscheck at UFC 124. (Al Bello/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Al Bello via Getty Images
UFC 124 — Dec. 11, 2010
Attendance: 23,152
Main Event: Georges St-Pierre def. Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision
Record of Canadians on the card: 4-2-1
Finishes: 4/11
In the most-attended event on this list, St-Pierre defended his welterweight title for the fifth time against Koscheck. The two had already fought once before at UFC 74 in 2007, which St-Pierre won by unanimous decision. But for the rematch, the stakes were raised with the title on the line.
The Montreal fans already despised Koscheck because of his previous appearance at UFC 113 when he beat Daley and then antagonized the crowd by taunting St-Pierre and their beloved Montreal Canadiens hockey team. But then both fighters coached "The Ultimate Fighter 12," with Koscheck embracing the villain role and continuing to goad St-Pierre all season, putting the UFC 124 crowd at a fever pitch.
From the opening bell, St-Pierre’s masterful boxing and dominant jab was on display; by the end of the first round, Koscheck’s right eye was already badly bruised and discolored. That pattern continued for the rest of the fight, with St-Pierre adding in right hands and a bevy of inside leg kicks to hamper Koscheck’s movement and make him a stationary target.
Given Koshceck’s strength as a wrestler, St-Pierre wisely kept the fight on the feet, where he picked his power-punching opponent apart. St-Pierre won every round on the scorecards and showed once again why he was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
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/ data-uuid="7a09ba17-8649-392c-9c3d-a69a4f2d1cb4"/>Jim Miller taught young Charles Oliveira a lesson at UFC 124. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: Jim Miller submitted a 21-year-old and undefeated Charles Oliveira via kneebar in the first round. It wasn’t easy for Miller, who showed off his grappling chops by defending numerous submission attempts before catching the overly-aggressive Oliveira. Miller’s win looks even more impressive in hindsight given that Oliveira eventually found his groove and won 11 consecutive fights from 2018-22, culminating in a brief reign as lightweight champion. Meanwhile, Miller is remarkably still an active UFC fighter, having competed 46 times for the promotion since 2008. He currently holds the record for most career UFC wins with 27.
Canuck Performance of the Night: In a matchup of grappling experts, Ontario’s Mark Bocek secured a first-round submission of American Dustin Hazelett. Bocek nailed a takedown within the first 15 seconds and stayed on top, eventually passing Hazelett’s guard and seizing mount position. From there, Bocek immediately attacked with a triangle choke and rolled to his back to finish it. It was a clinical masterclass on the ground by Bocek, which earned him Submission of the Night honors.
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Carlos Condit gave Georges St-Pierre hell — and nearly pulled off an all-time upset. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
UFC 154 — Nov. 17, 2012
Attendance: 17,249
Main Event: Georges St-Pierre def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision
Record of Canadians on the card: 6-3
Finishes: 3/12
I was in attendance for St-Pierre’s seventh title defense against interim champion Carlos Condit, who had beaten Nick Diaz at UFC 143 while St-Pierre recovered from a torn ACL. Although it was the longest layoff of St-Pierre’s career to that point, he showed no signs of cage rust as he took Condit down and kept him there for much of the first round, opening a bad cut on Confit’s forehead with a damaging elbow.
Yet Condit still gave St-Pierre one of the biggest scares of his legendary career, landing a massive third-round left high kick that stunned and dropped the champion. Condit followed up with significant ground-and-pound, but St-Pierre survived and rose back to his feet. Moments later, St-Pierre regained momentum, taking Condit down and keeping the challenger on the defensive for the rest of the round. Having survived a major hurdle, St-Pierre leaned on his wrestling for the championship stanzas.
Although St-Pierre was cut and bruised by the end of the fight, he won a clear-cut unanimous decision — and showed tremendous resiliency in surviving the third-round head kick.
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Johny Hendricks' ferocious rise included a monster knockout of Martin Kampmann at UFC 154. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: In a card that featured only three finishes out of 12 fights, Johny Hendricks added some much-needed excitement by starching veteran Martin Kampmann in the first round. Using a lead right hook to close the distance, Hendricks followed up with a thunderous left hand that put Kampmann down and out. It was a huge win for Hendricks, his fifth in a row, which set him up for a welterweight title eliminator in his next fight.
Canuck Performance of the Night: Contrary to his "Bull" nickname, John Makdessi effectively played the role of the matador in an all-Canadian matchup against Sam Stout. Makdessi defended all of Stout’s takedowns to keep the fight standing, where he was able to repeatedly land his quick and accurate jab. While Stout had his moments with forward pressure and low kicks, Makdessi was the smoother striker with better head movement, and he picked Stout apart with effective counters to earn a unanimous decision.
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Nick Diaz was pure Nick Diaz throughout his saga with Georges St-Pierre. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
UFC 158 — March 16, 2013
Attendance: 20,145
Main Event: Georges St-Pierre def. Nick Diaz via unanimous decision
Record of Canadians on the card: 5-2
Finishes: 5/12
Nick Diaz called out St-Pierre for years as the Strikeforce welterweight champion, but it was only when Diaz returned to the UFC in 2011, after a five-year hiatus, that his dream match could be made.
Yet Diaz failed to capitalize on his golden opportunity, as he was thoroughly dominated by St-Pierre in another lopsided title defense. After all of Diaz’s trash talk, he only had fleeting moments of success on the feet in the third round. The rest was all St-Pierre, as the champ completed eight takedowns and had his way on the mat. St-Pierre also found great success with his jab, repeatedly popping it in Diaz’s face.
In an anti-climactic main event, St-Pierre demonstrated that he could not only out-grapple Diaz, but beat him in a boxing match too, which was Diaz’s specialty. No matter where the fight took place, St-Pierre bested Diaz convincingly.
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Johny Hendricks (right) and Carlos Condit put on a forgotten war at UFC 158. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: In the co-main event, Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit went to-to-toe for three rounds to earn the next title shot against St-Pierre. Hendricks leaned on his wrestling and repeatedly took Condit down, though Condit showed an improved ability to get back to his feet, where the striking exchanges were evenly contested. Although Hendricks couldn’t keep Condit down for long, the takedowns counted on the scorecards and Hendricks rightfully earned a unanimous decision.
Canuck Performance of the Night: Alberta’s Jordan Mein made his his UFC debut one to remember against veteran Dan Miller. Despite being only 23 years old, Mein had close to 35 pro fights on his résumé — and he took full advantage of his first UFC opportunity, using precise striking to stop Miller in the first round. After escaping an early armbar submission, Mein got back to his feet and dropped Miller with a left hand later in the round. Mein then knocked Miller down again with punches before finishing with ground-and-pound, thus becoming the first fighter to finish Miller inside the distance.
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Demetrious Johnson made history with his literal last-second finish of Kyoji Horiguchi. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
UFC 186 — April 25, 2015
Attendance: 10,154
Main Event: Demetrious Johnson submits Kyoji Horiguchi at 4:59 of Round 5
Record of Canadians on the card: 8-5
Finishes: 5/12
The main event of the UFC's final trip to Montreal for nearly a decade was supposed to feature a bantamweight title rematch between champion T.J. Dillashaw and challenger Renan Barao. But Dillashaw broke his rib in training and had to pull out, which elevated Johnson and Horiguchi to the main event.
As he often did, "Mighty Mouse" put on a flawless performance en route to securing the latest finish in UFC history — an armbar of Horiguchi at the 4:59 mark of the fifth and final round. The win represented Johnson’s sixth consecutive flyweight title defense, and although it was far from a thrilling affair, Johnson won every round leading up to the last-second submission, adding another accolade to an already glimmering résumé as one of the UFC’s most dominant champions.
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Thomas Almeida was once a feared up-and-comer. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Josh Hedges via Getty Images
Undercard Highlight: Undefeated (18-0) bantamweight prospect Thomas Almeida made his second UFC appearance against Canadian Yves Jabouin. It was Almeida’s hard and accurate punches that hurt Jabouin in the first round, leading to a standing stoppage. Although Almeida went on to win his next two fights by knockout, he then lost five of six. Looking back, it’s easy to forget how precipitous Almeida’s rise and decline truly were.
Canuck Performance of the Night: In another All-Canadian matchup, Nova Scotia’s John Makdessi took on British Columbia’s Shane Campbell, who was making his UFC debut. After struggling initially with Campbell’s length, Makdessi made his way inside, landing crisp punches to devastating effect. Makdessi dropped Campbell twice in the first round courtesy of right hands, and while Campbell was able to survive the first knockdown and get back to his feet, the second knockdown and ensuing ground-and-pound rendered him helpless and the referee waved off the fight with only seconds remaining.
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