For the first time in Sportsnet history, a mixed martial arts fighter has been named Canadian Athlete of the Year.
Montreal's Georges St. Pierre capped a championship 2008 by receiving Sportsnet's coveted honour, beating out hockey player Jarome Iginla, Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc, tennis player Daniel Nestor and baseball player Justin Morneau.
"It's an honour for me to have this award and being the first MMA guy to receive something like this," St. Pierre told Sportsnet. "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 and (Sportsnet analyst Showdown) Joe Ferraro for promoting the sport of MMA, because without them the sport would not be as 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 was selected by readers of Sportsnet.ca through a week-long voting process with a whopping 89 per cent of the vote.
St. Pierre, the world's top welterweight and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, had the best year of his career in 2008.
He began the year as the interim welterweight champion after defeating Matt Hughes on Dec. 29, 2007 at UFC 79 in Las Vegas. On April 19, in front of a hometown crowd in Montreal's Bell Centre, St. Pierre became outright champion when he beat Matt Serra at UFC 83. The Montreal card was the first UFC fight in Canada.
St. Pierre successfully defended the welterweight belt for the first time in his career in August in one of the best and most entertaining fights of 2008. On Aug. 25 at UFC 86 in Las Vegas he went five rounds with a game Jon Fitch, but was never really in trouble, dominating throughout the bout which was named fight of the night.
As an added headline to the year, he became the first MMA fighter to sign with CAA Sports, the same marketing agency that lists sports stars such as the NHL's Sidney Crosby, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees and the NBA's LeBron James as clients.
"I continue to be both amazed and humbled by the overwhelmingly strong response Georges receives from all across Canada, not just Quebec," said Shari L. Spencer, St. Pierre's manager and president of GSP Enterprise. "Sportsnet's consistent coverage is no doubt a significant contributing factor to this support, and we are grateful for their commitment to MMA and particularly the UFC.
"Often we're so engrossed that it's easy to lose perspective outside of a particular sport. Yet this recognition is a strong reminder that a professional athlete of Georges' character and achievement can transcend a sport that is still commonly referenced to with adjectives such as 'fringe' or 'niche', and be embraced by the country he loves and strives to represent in the best possible manner."
With the achievement of being named Sportsnet's 2008 Canadian Athlete of the Year, St. Pierre will look to ride that to perhaps an even bigger 2009, which will start with his welterweight championship defence Super Bowl weekend against B.J. Penn, a fight that will also establish one of them as arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
