Sportsnet.ca voters have selected Georges St-Pierre as the Sportsnet 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year with 89% of the votes.
Georges St-Pierre being voted Sportsnet's Canadian athlete of the year validates our belief that MMA is fast becoming mainstream, said Mike English, Executive Producer, Rogers Sportsnet. Sportsnet takes great pride in being ahead of the curve in this regard. Its the reason we cover UFC events on a regular basis and have hired a MMA analyst in "Showdown" Joe Ferraro. There is a hunger for MMA content from our target demographic and its our responsibility to appease that hunger.
Viewers tuning into the Inbox on Sportsnet Connected were encouraged to log on sportsnet.ca to vote for their choice amongst the other finalists including Paralympic athlete Chantal Petitclerc, forward Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, first baseman Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and pro tennis player Daniel Nestor. Voters could only enter once and the results were not made public during the voting process.
It's an honour for me to have this award and being the first MMA guy to receive something like this, said St-Pierre. I want to congratulate the other nominees because they have done an incredible job in their respective sports, making this an even more special honour. I want to thank Rogers Sportsnet & Joe Ferraro for promoting the sport of MMA, because without them the sport would not be as well known as it is right now in Canada. I want to thank everybody for their support and voting for me - I want to be a good Canadian ambassador for the sport and represent MMA well."
St-Pierre is currently ranked the number one welterweight in MMA. He became the UFCs undisputed welterweight champion on April 19th at UFC 83 in Montreal where he defeated Matt Serra. The welterweight champion successfully defended his title at UFC 87 in August by beating Jon Fitch in a unanimous decision. St-Pierre is regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world and holds a professional record of 17-2.
St-Pierre joins the ranks of Sidney Crosby and Steve Nash who have been among the previous winners of Sportsnets athlete of the year award.
1 янв 2009
