Wheaties™ Fans Select Anthony Pettis as America's NEXT Box Champion

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With over 873,000 workouts logged over the last two months in support of the Wheaties NEXT Challenge, America has spoken by selecting Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Champion, Anthony Pettis to be featured nationally on the famed Wheaties box. This marks the first time in the cereal's 91-year history that Wheaties put the power in the hands of the voters to choose the next elite athlete to appear on the box. Pettis' Wheaties box will be available in early 2015.

Five world-class athletes from several emerging sports vied for the Wheaties box in an innovative way—by asking their fans to get out and move. The Wheaties NEXT Challenge, powered by the leader in Connected Fitness, MapMyFitness, encouraged fans to vote for their favorite athlete by logging workouts through the MapMyFitness platform – either manually documenting online, recording through any of the apps (MapMyFitness, MapMyRun, MapMyRide, MapMyWalk) or by connecting any one of the 400+ compatible devices.  Over 71,000 people participated in the Wheaties NEXT Challenge with Pettis fans logging a total of 324,025 workouts, powering him to the top of the leaderboard.

"We are thrilled to welcome Anthony Pettis to the Wheaties family and congratulate him and his fans on their remarkable effort and accomplishment," said David Oehler, marketing manager for Wheaties. "It has been inspiring to see communities across America get out and move this summer by supporting the athletes and the sports they love."

Additionally, as part of Wheaties NEXT, Pettis selected and competed on behalf of two charities-- the Gadzuric Foundation and Exploit No More.  Each charity will receive a donation from General Mills based upon the number of workouts logged for Pettis.

A native of Milwaukee, WI, Pettis made his professional MMA debut in 2007 and instantly took the sport by storm, amassing an impressive 17-2 record. Known for his flashy, gravity-defying kicks, Pettis captured the UFC^® lightweight championship in 2013 and cemented himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. With his popularity at an all-time high, Pettis was chosen as a coach for the highly-anticipated 20^th season of The Ultimate Fighter^®, which premieres Sept. 10 on FOX Sports 1, featuring female athletes competing for the new UFC strawweight champion. Pettis will coach opposite top contender Gilbert Melendez and the two will meet Dec. 6 as he defends his UFC lightweight title for the first time.

Pettis competed against four other top athletes, each with an impressive amount of support and votes throughout the campaign. Motocross star Ryan Dungey placed second behind Pettis, followed by Christen Press of the U.S. National Women's Soccer League, American blade runner Blake Leeper and lacrosse all-star Rob Pannell. Overall, 873,154 workouts were logged on behalf of the five athletes.

Fans can watch exclusive in-depth videos of each athlete by visiting www.wheaties.com or www.facebook.com/wheaties.  

ABOUT WHEATIES
Wheaties has been committed to providing athletes with the nutrition they need to help them perform at their best for more than 90 years. The team behind "The Breakfast of Champions" has worked for decades to learn from food scientists, health professionals and athletes about what active people need to help fuel their active lifestyles. Some of the greatest athletes in American history have been honored by this first-ever whole grain breakfast cereal. Wheaties' 100 percent whole grain flakes can be enjoyed a variety of ways including with low-fat chocolate milk for long-lasting energy as part of a complete breakfast. To view Wheaties-inspired recipes as well as a timeline of Wheaties Champions over the decades, visit www.wheaties.com.

ABOUT TEAM WHEATIES
Team Wheaties is a select group of elite athletes who represent the best in their respective sports. They were selected for the team based on their athletic achievements as well as how they personify being a champion both on and off the field of competition. Current Team Wheaties athletes include; UFC champion Anthony Pettis; motocross champion Ryan Dungey; speedskaters J.R. Celski and Heather Richardson; alpine skiing champion Mikaela Shiffrin; snowboard slope style champion Sage Kotsenburg; para athletes Evan Strong, Blake Leeper and Jessica Long; lacrosse MVP Rob Pannell; snowboard cross champion Nick Baumgartner; triathlete Hunter Kemper; decathlete R.J. McGinnis and climber Tommy Caldwell.

To find out more about Wheaties and all of the athletes on the team visit www.Wheaties.com or www.facebook.com/Wheaties.

The Breakfast of Champions and Wheaties are registered trademarks of General Mills

ABOUT MAPMYFITNESS
MapMyFitness is the leader in Connected Fitness – building the world's largest digital fitness community by providing interactive tools to make fitness social, simple and rewarding. The flagship consumer brands – MapMyRun, MapMyRide, and MapMyWalk – are among the most popular apps on iOS and Android and the cloud-based platform has been supporting millions of users since it launched in 2007. MapMyFitness is an open platform, seamlessly integrating with more than 400 fitness tracking devices, sensors and wearables. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, MapMyFitness has over 100 employees and offers integrated marketing and advertising solutions, premium consumer subscription products, and a SaaS platform that helps partners of any size tap into advanced fitness tracking technology, workout databases, nutritional data, calorie calculators, and 160+ million of the best running, cycling and walking routes around the world. For more information, visit www.mapmyfitness.com. MapMyFitness is an Under Armour company.

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SOURCE Wheaties