UFC card in Toronto sells out in minutes

As expected, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first visit to Toronto will be a smashing box-office success.

The organization officially announced its April 30 show at Rogers Centre sold out in a matter of minutes.

For its first stadium show, the UFC had hoped to configure the venue for about 42,000 fans. That number had to be increased to 55,000 because of soaring demand.

The total live gate for UFC 129 is expected to be well over $10 million, doubling the $5.4 million gate for UFC 66 at the MGM Grand in December 2006.

The previous high for attendance came at UFC 124 in December, when 23,000 fans attended the Bell Centre in Montreal.

UFC 129 will also be the largest single-day event gate in the history of Rogers Centre.

The card is headlined by a welterweight title bout between Jake Shields and champion Georges St. Pierre, a Canadian superstar.

Should St. Pierre win, a potential super fight with middleweight champ Anderson Silva could be next. Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, has been mentioned as a possible venue for the matchup.

The Toronto show could go a long way in determining the viability of UFC events in large stadiums.

■ TUFF-N-UFF — Local fighter Jerry Shapiro won the Tuff-N-Uff bantamweight title with a decision over Jamie Hernandez on the amateur organization’s card at The Orleans on Friday night.

The 24-year-old, who attended Cheyenne and Cimarron-Memorial high schools, now hopes to turn professional, possibly as soon as late March.

Shapiro had been out of action since March as he adjusted to life with his son, Zander, who is now 6 months old. Shapiro also hopes to fulfill the dreams of his father, Neil, a once-aspiring boxer who hung up his gloves when Jerry was born in order to support the family.

“My dad didn’t get a chance to fight professionally and push toward his dream, so now I get to do it for him,” Shapiro said. “I just hope it trickles down to my son and it motivates him to do something positive.”

Shapiro is a jiu-jitsu purple belt under Marc Laimon at Cobra Kai in Las Vegas.

Also on the card, Sean Bollinger picked up the lightweight title with a first-round submission win over Dustin Chevalier.

■ CARANO COMEBACK — Strikeforce announced the return of Las Vegan Gina Carano during Saturday night’s broadcast on Showtime.

Carano, who is known as the “face of women’s MMA,” last fought Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in August 2009. Carano suffered the first loss of her career in the middleweight title bout.

She has been away from fighting while working on other projects, most notably filming the lead in the Steven Soderbergh film “Haywire,” which is due out later this year.

Carano recently returned to training, but no date or opponent has been set for her first fight back.

Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou posted on Twitter on Monday that there is no shortage of potential matchups: “The list of fighters that want to welcome Gina Carano back to the cage is growing fast. Lots of managers and fighters already reaching out.”

■ WHO’S NEXT FOR JACKSON? — The mystery of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s next opponent continues to be unsolved for now.

The former light heavyweight champion was due to face Thiago Silva at UFC 130 at the MGM Grand on May 28, but Silva might be put on the shelf because of issues with the drug test he submitted after a Jan. 1 win over Brandon Vera.

Jackson was offered a title shot against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on March 19 after Rashad Evans pulled out with a knee injury, but Jackson had to turn it down because of the short notice.

Rumors immediately spread that Evans would fill in for Silva to fight Jackson at UFC 130, but that now appears unlikely.

All indications are that Jackson will now meet Matt Hamill at UFC 130, though the fight is not official and hasn’t been signed.

As for Silva, he has until Feb. 24 to answer a letter from the Nevada Athletic Commission regarding his test. The “B” sample from his Jan. 1 test will then be sent for testing at a different lab than the one that tested his “A” sample.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.