In a positive sign that major mixed martial arts events are getting the kind of mainstream recognition that they deserve, ESPN has scheduled interviews with Georges St. Pierre, Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar this week on SportsCenter.St. Pierre and Mir will both appear Thursday, two days before St. Pierre fights Dan Hardy and Mir fights Shane Carwin at UFC 111. St. Pierre's interview will air live at 12:15PM ET, and Mir's interview will air live at 11:45AM ET. (NOTE: Interview times were changed after this post was published.)
Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight champion, will appear Friday at 10:15AM ET. It will be Lesnar's second SportsCenter interview of the year; he previously announced his comeback plans on SportsCenter in January. Lesnar will return to the Octagon in July against the Mir-Carwin winner.
SportsCenter anchor Josh Elliott will conduct the interviews. Elliott is (along with Jim Rome and Tony Reali) among the ESPN on-air personalities who really gets MMA, and overall this has to be considered good news for MMA fans who want to see greater mainstream acceptance for the sport.
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