Premiering just hours before Canadian Georges “Rush” St-Pierre defends his Welterweight title in front of a sold-out 65,000 seat crowd – and the first UFC fight ever in Ontario – ETALK’s Ben Mulroney unleashes the reigning champion of the world in Toronto’s ETALK newsroom for an exclusive sit down interview. In ETALK PRESENTS: UFC, premiering Saturday, April 30 at 5 p.m. ET on CTV, Mulroney digs deep into the evolution of the world’s fastest growing sport with Georges St-Pierre alongside UFC President Dana White and Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright. Leaving no subject off limits, they discuss the safety of the sport, the UFC’s avid celebrity following, the importance of regulation, and then answer Twitter questions from die-hard fans. White, Wright and St-Pierre open up to ETALK and reveal why the UFC is such a knock-out sensation here in Canada, and all over the world. Check out the promo here and watch online on ctv.ca one hour after broadcast, with encore presentations Saturday, April 30 at 6 p.m. ET and Sunday, May 1 at 11 p.m. ET on E!
Selected quotes from ETALK PRESENTS: UFC:
On St-Pierre’s fame surpassing players in the NHL:
Mulroney: “At this point, a lot of people would say you’re a bigger athlete in Canada than any hockey player. That’s a bold statement and it’s true for a lot of people.”
St-Pierre: “I think if you talk worldwide, my sport is more popular than hockey. In the Philippines they don’t know anybody who plays hockey.”
On the UFC’s celebrity following:
Mulroney: “Who is the biggest celebrity fan of this sport?”
White: “I don’t know, we have so many. I mean, we’ve had everybody from Clooney to Demi and Ashton. I mean, you name it, they’ve all been to the UFC.”
On Canada’s support for the UFC:
White: “I never saw Canada coming. I didn’t expect this. Canada has become, other than the United States, the second biggest market we have. I call Canada the mecca of mixed martial arts, and not only because there’s so many fans up here in Canada, but how much talent comes out of Canada now too.”
On the UFC’s next steps in Canada:
Wright: “We’ve talked about developing an ULTIMATE FIGHTER CANADA. Maybe even a Tough Canada vs. Tough Quebec. That’d be a hell of a fight.”
On what he would do if he wasn’t a fighter:
St-Pierre: “I would have been a paleontologist or archaeologist. People don’t know that I studied that.”
