TORONTO, April 29 (Reuters) - Dana White, the bombastic president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, whipped Canadians into a lather last year when he said welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was better known than hockey great Wayne Gretzky.While such a statement borders on treason in hockey-mad Canada, White's boast cannot not be simply dismissed with St. Pierre set to
headline the biggest mixed martial arts event ever held in North America on Saturday at a 55,000 seat Rogers Centre that sold out in a matter of hours.
White chuckles at the fuss his comments created and this week delighted in delivering another well-placed jab, claiming that not only is St. Pierre Canada's most popular athlete but that he is probably the country's best paid as well.
"I said, he was the biggest superstar to ever come out of Canada and Canadians lost their minds," White told Reuters. "But it's true.
"The reality is he is the biggest star. He went down to the Philippines and got absolutely mobbed. It was insane. Hockey doesn't have that reach.
"To many people Georges St. Pierre is one of the most famous and biggest superstars in all of this sport and I'm not just talking Canada."
When asked, White is quick to throw around big numbers such as the economic impact UFC 129 will have on Toronto, "around $40 million," and Saturday's record gate of $11 million.
But the figures he refuses to reveal are what the UFC's stable of fighters earn. White would only say that St. Pierre, one of UFC's biggest names, "makes a lot of money."
White concedes that none of the UFC fighters come close to pulling in the $20 million boxer Manny Pacquiao will reportedly earn for next week's fight with Shane Mosley.
But White says UFC fighters, on average, are more fairly compensated than their boxing counterparts with fighters drawing the biggest crowds getting a bigger piece of what is now a billion-dollar pie.
TOP EARNERS
In a recent ESPN survey breaking down the top earners in 30 different sports, UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar was the top MMA fighter last year banking $5.3 million in prize money and a cut from pay-per-views.
"What you kill you eat," said White, who has the build, attitude and demeanor that would not look out of place inside the cage. "The bigger star you are, those are the guys who make the most money.
"Right now Georges St. Pierre might be the highest paid athlete in Canada ... Georges St. Pierre is one of our biggest stars right now. Georges St. Pierre makes a lot of money."
If Torontonians did not know St. Pierre before the UFC hype machine came to town, many do now as his stern, chiseled face is on banners flying from almost every light post, peering down from billboards and out from magazine covers and newspapers.
Turn on the television and St. Pierre is there pitching one of his many endorsements or being interviewed.
Hockey may be religion in Canada but, according to White, it is also the mecca for mixed martial arts.
People from across the country will make the pilgrimage to Toronto to watch St. Pierre put his welterweight crown and a 30-round unbeaten run -- that mixed martial arts enthusiasts compare to Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak in Major League Baseball -- on the line against American Jake Shields.
Some of those fans have paid as much as $800 for a ticket to watch St. Pierre, who earned just $1,300 for his first fight and survived the early days working as a doorman at Montreal nightclubs while honing the skills.
"Now it (prize money) is pretty good, of course it is going to get better, it is a young sport," said St. Pierre. "I have good team around me and things are going very well for me but it mostly depends on my performance inside the octagon.
"I want to be the greatest, good isn't enough for me."
headline the biggest mixed martial arts event ever held in North America on Saturday at a 55,000 seat Rogers Centre that sold out in a matter of hours.
White chuckles at the fuss his comments created and this week delighted in delivering another well-placed jab, claiming that not only is St. Pierre Canada's most popular athlete but that he is probably the country's best paid as well.
"I said, he was the biggest superstar to ever come out of Canada and Canadians lost their minds," White told Reuters. "But it's true.
"The reality is he is the biggest star. He went down to the Philippines and got absolutely mobbed. It was insane. Hockey doesn't have that reach.
"To many people Georges St. Pierre is one of the most famous and biggest superstars in all of this sport and I'm not just talking Canada."
When asked, White is quick to throw around big numbers such as the economic impact UFC 129 will have on Toronto, "around $40 million," and Saturday's record gate of $11 million.
But the figures he refuses to reveal are what the UFC's stable of fighters earn. White would only say that St. Pierre, one of UFC's biggest names, "makes a lot of money."
White concedes that none of the UFC fighters come close to pulling in the $20 million boxer Manny Pacquiao will reportedly earn for next week's fight with Shane Mosley.
But White says UFC fighters, on average, are more fairly compensated than their boxing counterparts with fighters drawing the biggest crowds getting a bigger piece of what is now a billion-dollar pie.
TOP EARNERS
In a recent ESPN survey breaking down the top earners in 30 different sports, UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar was the top MMA fighter last year banking $5.3 million in prize money and a cut from pay-per-views.
"What you kill you eat," said White, who has the build, attitude and demeanor that would not look out of place inside the cage. "The bigger star you are, those are the guys who make the most money.
"Right now Georges St. Pierre might be the highest paid athlete in Canada ... Georges St. Pierre is one of our biggest stars right now. Georges St. Pierre makes a lot of money."
If Torontonians did not know St. Pierre before the UFC hype machine came to town, many do now as his stern, chiseled face is on banners flying from almost every light post, peering down from billboards and out from magazine covers and newspapers.
Turn on the television and St. Pierre is there pitching one of his many endorsements or being interviewed.
Hockey may be religion in Canada but, according to White, it is also the mecca for mixed martial arts.
People from across the country will make the pilgrimage to Toronto to watch St. Pierre put his welterweight crown and a 30-round unbeaten run -- that mixed martial arts enthusiasts compare to Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak in Major League Baseball -- on the line against American Jake Shields.
Some of those fans have paid as much as $800 for a ticket to watch St. Pierre, who earned just $1,300 for his first fight and survived the early days working as a doorman at Montreal nightclubs while honing the skills.
"Now it (prize money) is pretty good, of course it is going to get better, it is a young sport," said St. Pierre. "I have good team around me and things are going very well for me but it mostly depends on my performance inside the octagon.
"I want to be the greatest, good isn't enough for me."
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