Post by The Mac on Dec 14, 2009 15:56:40 GMT -5
UFC champ Georges St-Pierre repeats as Canadian Athlete of the Year!
Again proving mixed-martial-arts fighters can earn mainstream recognition, Georges St-Pierre today was named Sportsnet's Canadian Athlete of the Year.
The 28-year-old UFC welterweight champion also won the award in 2008.
Fan voting determined the winner, and St-Pierre beat out fellow Canadian Sidney Crosby, who captained the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins and won the NHL's 2009 Stanley Cup.
St-Pierre, who was born in and fights out of Quebec, fought twice in 2009. In one of the biggest UFC fights of the year, St-Pierre defeated B.J. Penn in a UFC welterweight title defense at UFC 94 in January. The dominating performance led St-Pierre to a fourth-round TKO victory and a career 2-0 record over Penn, who currently holds the UFC's lightweight belt.
Seven months later, St-Pierre defeated top contender Thiago Alves, whom many had labeled the fighter most likely to dethrone the champ. St-Pierre, though, won all five rounds in a dominating performance and earned scores of 50–45, 50–44 and 50–45 for the unanimous decision win.
St-Pierre has consistently ranked among the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and famed heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
St-Pierre also raised his profile in 2009 after signing a major, multi-year sponsorship deal with sports apparel giant Under Armour last month. Additionally, in March, he became the first MMA fighter to sign a deal with Gatorade and joined a list of its sponsored sports figures, including Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. St-Pierre, who is represented by CAA and managed by Shari Spencer, also made his silver screen debut in the 2009 movie releases "Never Surrender," "Hell's Chain" and "Death Warrior."
Source MMAjunkie.com
Again proving mixed-martial-arts fighters can earn mainstream recognition, Georges St-Pierre today was named Sportsnet's Canadian Athlete of the Year.
The 28-year-old UFC welterweight champion also won the award in 2008.
Fan voting determined the winner, and St-Pierre beat out fellow Canadian Sidney Crosby, who captained the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins and won the NHL's 2009 Stanley Cup.
St-Pierre, who was born in and fights out of Quebec, fought twice in 2009. In one of the biggest UFC fights of the year, St-Pierre defeated B.J. Penn in a UFC welterweight title defense at UFC 94 in January. The dominating performance led St-Pierre to a fourth-round TKO victory and a career 2-0 record over Penn, who currently holds the UFC's lightweight belt.
Seven months later, St-Pierre defeated top contender Thiago Alves, whom many had labeled the fighter most likely to dethrone the champ. St-Pierre, though, won all five rounds in a dominating performance and earned scores of 50–45, 50–44 and 50–45 for the unanimous decision win.
St-Pierre has consistently ranked among the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and famed heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
St-Pierre also raised his profile in 2009 after signing a major, multi-year sponsorship deal with sports apparel giant Under Armour last month. Additionally, in March, he became the first MMA fighter to sign a deal with Gatorade and joined a list of its sponsored sports figures, including Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. St-Pierre, who is represented by CAA and managed by Shari Spencer, also made his silver screen debut in the 2009 movie releases "Never Surrender," "Hell's Chain" and "Death Warrior."
Source MMAjunkie.com
