Victorino aided by relationship with UFC's Dana White

Shane Victorino met his wife through UFC. She was a secretary under UFC president Dana White and Victorino befriended White when Victorino started dating his future wife.

He endorsed the sport when it came to Philadelphia recently and was in attendance at UFC 101 in 2009.

So of course UFC President Dana White would support a friend's cause to make the All-Star game the past two years as the "Final Vote" selected player. According to White, who was touring Philadelphia in preparation for UFC 133 set to take place August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center, Victorino texted him asking him to tweet to White's more than 1.5 million followers on Twitter, urging them to vote for Victorino to become an All-Star. Each summer the UFC has come to Philly, Victorino has been up for the vote.

White's 2-for-2 on his end.

"I've know Shane before he made it into the Phillies and turned pro, and obviously once he turned pro, we were huge supporters," White said. "Not only did I get him in the All-Star game this year, but I got him in [2009] too. I was tweeting for him, too. And he does the same thing for us. When we came into Philly in [2009] he was doing all kinds of PR for us and pumping the UFC."

A ligament sprain in his right thumb kept Victorino from playing in the midsummer classic this year, but the selection still was only the second of his career, both coming on the final fan vote.

In 2009, Victorino gave batting practice tips to Tito Ortiz who stood in a different cage at Citizens Bank Park and took swings as part of a publicity tour. Coincidentally, in a few weeks, the former light heavyweight champ will continue his career revival, at 36-years old, with his headlining fight against Rashad Evans.

White loves the fighting history that soaks the city and even drove by the Rocky steps on Wednesday morning. See what he had to say about Victorino and the city of Brotherly Love here:

--Tim Rohan