Loiseau Asks for UFC Fight to Benefit Haiti
Loretta Hunt Jan 14, 2010
David
Loiseau’s uncle and 70-year-old grandparents are alive and
accounted for following a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that
struck Haiti on Tuesday.
The French Canadian fighter, who parents are Haitian, had been unable to reach his relatives since the disaster began to unfold in the poor Caribbean nation on Tuesday. A second uncle living in Miami was finally able to patch Loiseau’s mother through to the grandparents via a three-way call on Thursday afternoon.
Loiseau’s uncle lives in Port-au-Prince, the country’s densely
populated capital of two million people and one of the hardest hit
areas. Eighty percent of the city lives in poverty, according to
CNN.com. Office buildings, schools, hotels, hospitals and poorly
constructed shanty housing buckled and collapsed in the initial
quake and the dozens of aftershocks that followed, trapping
residents under the rubble.
Loiseau’s grandmother’s cousin, also in Port-au-Prince, perished when her home collapsed. She was 96 years old.
“The damage wasn’t as bad there, but the whole country is in chaos,” said Loiseau, who has campaigned for the last two days for donations to relief organizations.
Loiseau said that isn’t enough, though. He’s asked his manager, Ken Pavia, to contact the UFC to ask for a fight and said he will donate his entire purse and sponsorship money to relief efforts.
“Everybody is reaching out in their industries. I’m a fighter and I have access to the UFC, so I’m stepping up,” said Loiseau. “I’ll give every single penny up. Zuffa and my sponsors Tapout can write a check to the Haiti fund of their choice.”
Loiseau, who fought for the UFC middleweight title in 2005, has had a rough go in the cage in recent years. After three high profile defeats, he toiled his way through the regional circuit back into the top promotion, but dropped a largely panned unanimous decision loss to Ed Herman at UFC 97 last April in Montreal.
Still, Loiseau said his intentions are pointed at helping his roots, not his career.
“People are sleeping outside or in their cars fearing that their houses will come down on them. They can hear others crying through the rubble, but they don’t have the machinery to get to them,” he said. “These people are in a way worse position than me. I want to do what I do, which is fight, to inspire the Haitians and people all over the world and to let them know the MMA community is thinking of them.”
Ways To Donate to Haitian Relief Efforts
• Former President Bill Clinton, special U.S. envoy to Haiti, has set up a Web site directing donations to various relief organizations, including the American Red Cross, at https://re.clintonfoundation.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3869
• A $10 Donation can be sent to the American Red Cross by texting ‘Haiti’ to 90999 (www.redcross.org). The donation will be charged to your cell phone bill.
The French Canadian fighter, who parents are Haitian, had been unable to reach his relatives since the disaster began to unfold in the poor Caribbean nation on Tuesday. A second uncle living in Miami was finally able to patch Loiseau’s mother through to the grandparents via a three-way call on Thursday afternoon.
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Loiseau’s grandmother’s cousin, also in Port-au-Prince, perished when her home collapsed. She was 96 years old.
The 30-year-old fighter’s uncle returned home to find it leveled
and is now staying two hours outside the destroyed city with
Loiseau’s grandparents.
“The damage wasn’t as bad there, but the whole country is in chaos,” said Loiseau, who has campaigned for the last two days for donations to relief organizations.
Loiseau said that isn’t enough, though. He’s asked his manager, Ken Pavia, to contact the UFC to ask for a fight and said he will donate his entire purse and sponsorship money to relief efforts.
“Everybody is reaching out in their industries. I’m a fighter and I have access to the UFC, so I’m stepping up,” said Loiseau. “I’ll give every single penny up. Zuffa and my sponsors Tapout can write a check to the Haiti fund of their choice.”
Loiseau, who fought for the UFC middleweight title in 2005, has had a rough go in the cage in recent years. After three high profile defeats, he toiled his way through the regional circuit back into the top promotion, but dropped a largely panned unanimous decision loss to Ed Herman at UFC 97 last April in Montreal.
Still, Loiseau said his intentions are pointed at helping his roots, not his career.
“People are sleeping outside or in their cars fearing that their houses will come down on them. They can hear others crying through the rubble, but they don’t have the machinery to get to them,” he said. “These people are in a way worse position than me. I want to do what I do, which is fight, to inspire the Haitians and people all over the world and to let them know the MMA community is thinking of them.”
Ways To Donate to Haitian Relief Efforts
• Former President Bill Clinton, special U.S. envoy to Haiti, has set up a Web site directing donations to various relief organizations, including the American Red Cross, at https://re.clintonfoundation.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3869
• A $10 Donation can be sent to the American Red Cross by texting ‘Haiti’ to 90999 (www.redcross.org). The donation will be charged to your cell phone bill.
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