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“For me, it is a symbol of achievement,” said St-Pierre at the unveiling. “It’s not something you want to keep in your closet, so every time I won a belt, I gave it to someone who helped me through my career.”

St-Pierre had given his UFC 94 belt to a friend and owner of a gym who had given him free membership when he was broke.

“However, because of bad circumstances, he got into a divorce and the belt didn’t belong to him anymore,” St-Pierre explained. “It ended up on the internet … on sale to an auction. It was terrible, we couldn’t get it back.”

In June, the museum stepped in.

“We purchased (the belt) through Classic Auctions, which is a reputed Montreal auction house that specializes in sport,” said Jenny Ellison, curator of sport and leisure at the museum, and organizer of the event. “We’re in the process of building a sport collection, and this really represents what we want to do in the future.”

According to the Classic Auctions website, the final bid on St-Pierre’s UFC 94 belt was $55,527 US.

St-Pierre expressed his gratitude to the museum for finding the belt, assuring fans that it is now “in good hands for the long term.”

The belt will displayed from Feb. 1 to 4 in the lobby of the museum.

“If I was able to have that much success in my career and to obtain that particular belt, it’s because of the support of the fans,” said St-Pierre. “The fact that now it will be exposed to the fans, it’s my way to say thank you.”

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