UFC 129 'Prelims' on Spike TV to feature Diaz vs MacDonald, Ellenberger vs Pierson

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today unveiled its re-worked line-up for Spike TV's UFC 129 "Prelims" telecast on April 30 at 8 p.m. ET featuring welterweight bouts between Nate Diaz and Rory MacDonald as well as Jake Ellenberger vs. Sean Pierson.

UFC 129: "St. Pierre vs. Shields" will air live on pay-per-view (PPV) at 9 p.m. ET from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.

The 25-year-old Diaz is looking to bounce back from a hard fought unanimous decision loss to grappling "Stun Gun" Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125 back on Jan. 1.

The Cesar Gracie product is 1-1 since his return to the welterweight division following an inconsistent run as one of the promotion's top 155-pound prospects. After submitting Melvin Guillard at UFC Fight Night 19 in 2009, Diaz lost a very questionable split decision to Gray Maynard in 2010.

While he's comfortable in either weight class, a decisive win up North could go a long way in determining which division he calls home for the remainder of his 2011 fight campaign.

But don't expect MacDonald to make it easy for him.

After an impressive armbar submission win in his UFC debut over Mike Guymon, "Mac" shocked both fans and pundits when he controlled the majority of his next fight against the highly-favored Carlos Condit and may have been on his way to a lopsided decision victory -- until he gassed out and was finished with just seconds remaining in the contest.

The loss sent the Canadian to the famed Tristar gym to train with 170-pound deity Georges St. Pierre and if he watched Diaz lose to Kim, he might find it advantageous to drill wrestling with the very best in the world.

Tune in to find out.

Ellenberger, stepping in against Pierson to replace a hemorrhaged Brian Foster, is a gritty Nebraskan wrestler who's been rolling through his opposition since joining the UFC, save for a controversial split decision loss in his debut against Carlos Condit.

He recently went to war with Carlos Eduardo Rocha, taking him out in three rounds in February, but injuring his hands in the process, which was thought to have him out until late summer.

Guess not.

Pierson made headlines when it became known that the Toronto Police force, of which he was a member of, was not happy with his participation in mixed martial arts. He would have to make a choice between fighting and being a policeman.

Octagon it is.

Pierson started his career a mediocre 5-4 but after stringing together five consecutive wins, he got the call up from the big show. Well, that and the UFC needed a late replacement for an injured T.J. Waldburger at UFC 124 against Matt Riddle.

The Canadian agreed and made the most of it by taking a unanimous decision that company President Dana White would have awarded "Fight of the Night" had it not been the one event he decided to let the fans vote on the award.

Apparently that was enough for the organization to ask the grappler back and he'll get to fight in his native land, no less.

Not bad.

UFC 129 is set to feature a main event between Canada's own Georges St. Pierre, defending his welterweight title against fresh challenger -- and former Elite XC and Strikeforce champion -- Jake Shields.

In front of 55,000 screaming Canadians.

The mega-event will also include "Father Time" Randy Couture, defying the odds once again to take on Karate master Lyoto Machida.

For the current UFC 129 fight card and line up click here.