Edmonton palaeontologist helps MMA champ hunt dinos

Georges St-Pierre has become a bona fide dinosaur hunter.

The now-retired Canadian mixed martial arts champhas teamed up with University of Alberta paleontologist Scott Persons for his first TV documentary series.

Apparently the tough guy and three-time UFC Welterweight Championloves dinosaurs, even more than a good knockout.

"If I wasn't a mixed martial artist, I would have been a paleontologist," St-Pierre said in a trailer for the show, which debuted April 14on the History Channel.

"Martial arts is my life, paleontology is my passion."

From the badlands of South Dakota to the swamps of Alabama, The Boneyard follows St-Pierre and Persons as they travel the world, exploring excavation sites in search of remnants of prehistoric creatures.

"This is what Georges wants to do," Persons said during an interview on CBC Edmonton's Radio Active."He's not fighting anymore, at the moment, so this is how he wants to spend his time.

"It'skind of a travel show, it's about him travelling around and getting his hands dirty.He certainly has a lot of curiosity, and as far as paleontology goes, he really knows his stuff."

St-Pierre,a chiseled tough guy, and Persons,a slightly built scientist with an affinity for wide-brimmed hats, make for unlikely travelling companions.

In one scene from the TV series, they found a tiny fragment of fossilizedegg shell in Argentina.

Awestruck by the find, St-Pierre askedhow such a delicate shard could be preserved.

To give him a lesson on the importance of soil quality in the preservation of fossils, Persons encouraged St-Pierre to put a pinch of dirt into his mouth.

"I've been world champion of fighting, and no one has ever made me eat dirt, but today Scott did,"St-Pierre said.

"He thought at first that I was playing a practical joke on him," Persons said. "And he gave me this very, very serious intimidating stare down.

"I don't think he's the kind of guy people play jokes on very often."

Ancient adventure

Persons said he had never heard of St-Pierre before he got the call from producers of the show, asking him to sign on.

"His name didn't ring a bell, so I Googled him, and then I realized that I had seen him fight, because I saw him in the last Captain America movie, when he played a villain."

Persons said he was pleased with how the show turned out, and remains impressed with the fighter'sfossil obsession.

"We walked into a museum, and this gallery holds the skeleton of the Argentinosaurus, which is arguably the largest critter to ever walk the planet," said Persons.

"And George just went nuts. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. He was so excited he couldn't contain himself, he didn't know where to look and that energy was really infectious throughout the project."

Persons said plans for additional seasons are already in the works, and if all goes as planned the odd couple will test their ice age survival skills, explore the world of prehistoric bugs or dive deep for ancient sea monsters.

"We have some plans for really cool stuff, but that all depends on our ratings for this season."