Melissa Leong’s shock TV move as former MasterChef judge takes on UFC
Former MasterChef judge Melissa Leong has made a surprise television move and found love for a sport that’s “like chess with dire consequences”. Here is all you need to know.
Confidential
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TV host Melissa Leong has revealed a secret Confidential didn’t see coming.
The Dessert Masters judge is a closet UFC fan and has guest hosted an episode of Fight Week for Fox Sports and Kayo.
“I like to surprise people,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
“I don’t do things deliberately for that reason, but I do get a little bit of joy out of people realising I’m not quite what they were expecting me to be.”
The former MasterChef judge continued: “I was trained in food and food journalism specifically but I have an opportunity right now to get to learn about people’s lives through opportunities like this.
“And all the better that it happens to be a sport that I have come to really value and respect and love.”
Leong joined UFC fighters Tyson Pedro and Dan Hooker at Fox Sports Artarmon headquarters to film the episode ahead of the UFC297 bout at the weekend.
It is the first main event as part of an exclusive partnership between Fox Sports, Kayo and UFC.
“It is like chess with dire consequences,” Leong said of UFC.
“You can be a master of any number of different martial arts and so can your opponent, a different combination of skills, and you need to be able to train to win a fight with such unpredictable circumstances. It is really the height of athleticism.”
Leong conceded some might be surprised by the move as she is “not a huge sports fanatic across the board”.
“I happen to have found a sport that I am fascinated with,” she explained. “I am interested in the human aspect of it as much as the physicality, the athleticism and discipline that goes with it.”
In October, Leong revealed she would not return to MasterChef in 2024 but will continue with Dessert Masters as well as fronting new SBS documentary series, The Hospital: In The Deep End.
She said there is a lot fans don’t know about her, including the fact she loves metal music.
“I find it very relaxing,” she said. “I was a classically trained musician and so I listen to everything from baroque music to black metal, there is a time and a place for everything.”
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