Rory MacDonald , white trunks, on his way to a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout at UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre on April 30 2011.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Add another accolade to UFC welterweight contender Rory (Ares) MacDonald's mixed martial arts career.
The 23-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., who now trains out of Montreal, has earned his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
"It took me 9 years but today i finally received my blackbelt from my coach david lea of toshido mma," MacDonald tweeted.
MacDonald (14-1) started his MMA studies under Lea at age 14 in Kelowna at the Toshido MMA gym. He moved to Montreal after losing to Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit at UFC 115 in June 2010 in Vancouver.
MacDonald, who now trains alongside welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at Montreal's Tristar Gym, has won four fights since. The young Canadian is due to face Condit (28-6) again at UFC 158 in Montreal on March 16.