Michael Jordan, Lou Gehrig, Michael Phelps, Muhammad Ali, Barry Sanders, Mia Hamm, Wayne Gretzky and UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis now have something in common. Pettis is the latest athlete to be awarded the coveted cover of the Wheaties box.
Pettis is the first mixed martial arts athlete in history to don the Wheaties box, so this is a pretty historic day for MMA and the UFC.
But there can be only one winner. Congratulations to @Showtimepettis, the NEXT athlete to appear on the Wheaties box! #wheatiesnext
— Wheaties (@wheaties) September 1, 2014
Over the last several weeks Wheaties has been putting on a contest called “Wheaties Next” where people log their workouts and vote for their favorite athlete and the athletes charity of choice.
Keep logging for #WheatiesNext—a vote for your athlete is also a vote for their charities http://t.co/fgBNnpU1zX pic.twitter.com/qB36wxVdFc — Wheaties (@wheaties) August 28, 2014
The UFC and Pettis have been campaigning hard for fans around the globe to log in their workouts and vote for Pettis, and it apparently worked with flying colors as he is the newest cover athlete.
Pettis’ caption:
This is huge for the sport!!! Thank you to everyone who voted…. December 6th I will silence the critics!!@wheaties @ufc