A relentless Georges St-Pierre celebrated his comeback by winning a five-round decision over Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit to unify the welterweight title in a bloody battle at UFC 154.
It was a high-tempo, take-no-prisoners fight with St-Pierre pushing the pace.
The first two rounds went to GSP but Condit threatened briefly in the third.
St-Pierre consolidated his lead with takedowns as the fight wore on.
Ultimately, GSP's wrestling skills and ability to resist Condit's submission attempts on the ground won the day in what was an entertaining fight. St-Pierre controlled the contest.
The two battered fighters shook hands and embraced when the fight ended. The judges scored it almost a shutout for St-Pierre: 49-46, 50-45, 50-45.
Earlier, John (The Bull) Makdessi looked impressive in defeating Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout in an all-Canadian lightweight bout on the undercard of UFC 154 on Saturday night.
Makdessi (10-2) used a smart game plan - and stinging left jab - to pick away at Stout in a clinical 30-27, 29-28, 30-27 win.
The main event of the Bell Centre mixed martial arts card was a welterweight title fight between Montreal's Georges St-Pierre and Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit.
St-Pierre, the reigning 170-pound champion, has not fought since April 2011 as the result of reconstructive knee surgery. Condit won the interim title during his absence, defeating Nick Diaz in February.
Condit was booed as he was shown entering the arena on the video screens. The crowd went wild at GSP's entry, especially when the champ faked a limp before grinning and giving a thumbs-up.
A GSP win likely means a super-fight showdown with middleweight (185-pound) champion Anderson Silva. The 37year-old Brazilian met the media before the card started, declaring his interest in meeting GSP somewhere between their two weight classes.
Stout, from London, Ont., and Montreal's Makdessi both received loud welcomes from the Bell Centre crowd.
Stout (19-8-1) pressed the action to start but Makdessi scored with some good counter-punches and stuffed some takedown attempts. Stout began to get frustrated in the second as Makdessi made him pay.
In the third, Makdessi lashed Stout in the face with a kick and Stout's face looked the worse for wear as the run wore on. Stout never stopped coming forward but he also never found the key to Makdessi.
Makdessi needed the win after two straight losses. It was also a welcome result for his brother David, whose clothing line Fear the Fighter was well-represented on the night.
There were eight Canadians on the Bell Centre card, not counting Montreal-based French middleweight Francis Carmont - one of five Tristar Gym fighters in action.
There would have been nine but Calgary middleweight Nick (The Promise) Ring was forced to pull out earlier in the day due to illness. His bout with American Costa Philippou was scrapped.
The other Canadians faced foreign opponents on the night, going 3-0 on the undercard.
Veteran Montreal middleweight Patrick (The Predator) Cote won by first-round disqualification over Italy's Alessio (Legionarius) Sakara.
The fight was stopped at 1: 26 after Sakara floored Cote with elbows to the head and then nailed a dazed Cote - who was on his knees - with hammer-fists, of which eight straight were illegal blows to the back of the head.
The crowd, which had been singing "Ole, Ole, Ole" during the bout, booed as they watched replays or Sakara was shown on the video screen. Cote, who just shook his head, was rewarded with cheers.
The win was then given to Cote (19-8).
Sakara (19-10 with one no contest) apologized after the fight, saying he was caught up in the moment.
Montreal bantamweight Ivan (Pride of El Salvador) Menjivar pulled off a slick belly-down armbar to defeat Azamat Gashimov, an American-based Russian, by submission at 2: 44 of the first round. As the first Canadian out on the card, Menjivar was rewarded with plenty of love from the crowd for his fourth win in five UFC fights.
Gashimov (10-2) took Menjivar (25-9) down and paid for it. Gashimov's face was contorted in pain as he tapped out in his UFC debut.
Featherweight Antonio (Pato) Carvalho (15-5) of Ajax, Ont., won a 29-28, 2928, 28-29 split decision over former Strikeforce contender Rodrigo Damm.
