No longer on the card for UFC 143 in February, when he was supposed to face Nick Diaz, MMA star Georges Saint-Pierre didn’t change his habits at all after suffering another knee injury; he dropped by Gracie Barra Montreal last night, his usual Wednesday routine.

There, the fighter, who hasn’t tasted defest since 2007, was caught by surprise by the tribute Professor Bruno Fernandes held for him there, awarding him the first stripe on his Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

“GSP has been my black belt since 2008, and it was time he got a stripe. The cool part was that his manager, who is also his best friend, got his black belt yesterday too,” recounts Professor Bruno Fernandes. “He’s Rodolphe Beaulieu, who has been training with us for a long while now and became the first black belt at the new GB Montreal location, a school I openend in April 2010. The other cool part was that each of them knew that the other was going to get promoted but never suspected they themselves would be, so it was a great surprise for them both. Just as it was for the other students, who didn’t have a clue about anything.”

Six Canadian fans of GSP’s were there to witness the promotion. They had won a contest promoted by sports drink Gatorade, and the prize was a chance to meet the champion.

“GSP is stoked the stripe came at such a trying time for him, because of the injury and having to pull out of a fight again. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament all the way through, and he’s scheduled for surgery next week,” says Bruno.