Benoit Saint-Denis was surprised by Dustin Poirier’s decision to fight him at UFC 299. They will compete in a five-round co-main event as lightweights on March 9 in Miami.
This week, it was announced that Poirier, a former interim champion and ranked No. 3 in the division, will face Saint-Denis, who is ranked No. 12. After making his UFC debut in October 2021, Saint-Denis has won five consecutive fights following an initial loss. This presents a significant step up in competition and risk for both fighters, with Poirier coming off a knockout loss to Justin Gaethje in his last fight.
Saint-Denis expressed his surprise at Poirier’s acceptance, saying, “I think the UFC has worked on that as well. The UFC is as much a sport as it is a business. If a fighter is coming off a loss, and the guys right behind him and in front of him have already booked fights, it’s a good idea to defend his rank. I was going to face Beneil Dariush, but I was surprised that it ended up being Dustin Poirier.
“I think Dustin wanted to fight in Miami, and Mateusz Gamlot and Rafael dos Anjos are already busy fighting each other, so Beneil had just gotten over a loss, so I think I was the next one to face Dustin. I’m very happy that the UFC was able to put me in the fight. ” Saint-Denis also praised manager Gihom Pelletier’s role in ensuring the match progressed.
“When you’re in the top 15, there aren’t many people in front of you,” Saint-Denis continued. “He had five finishes in a row, so I knew it was going to be a big fight with the guy in front of me. [in the rankings], there are very few people left who make it. ”
Regarding the five-round rule, which normally only applies to UFC title fights and main events, Saint-Denis added: Maybe he was the first to talk about it, which makes sense since this is a big match and co-main event of the UFC pay-per-view. I believe it will be a fight between the No. 1 contenders for the BMF title. ”
The UFC’s “Baddest Motherf*****” title was introduced in 2019, when Jorge Masvidal stopped Nate Diaz to win the belt. It was his second appearance last summer, when Gaethje knocked out Poirier to win the gold medal.
Dustin Poirier (left) against Justin Gaethje in July
(Getty Images)
“There are two guys I want to fight,” Saint-Denis said. “Of course, Dustin Poirier was one of those guys. I’m very happy he chose to fight. We’ll have a great fight. But of course, if everything goes well, Justin Poirier… with gazi [lightweight champion] Islam Makhachev are two guys I want to fight. ”
Saint-Denis elaborated on facing Poirier, saying, “I think fights at this level are always about style and who imposes their style on the opponent. If you fight like Dustin Poirier, it’s a difficult fight. But if he fights like Benoit Saint-Denis, it will be Poirier who will be in a bad position.”
Saint-Denis last fought in November, knocking out Matt Frevola with a head kick in the first round. The victory improved the Frenchman’s record to 13-1, with all of his wins coming by stoppage (4 KOs, 9 submissions).
Poirier, 34, won the interim lightweight title in 2019, but was unsuccessful in unifying the belts with Khabib Nurmagomedov later that year, losing by submission. After Khabib retired and vacated the title in 2020, he won the gold medal vacated by Charles Oliveira and retained it by submission against Poirier in 2021.
Poirier won three consecutive fights between those losses, including two wins over Conor McGregor, and bounced back from his loss to Oliveira by submitting Michael Chandler. However, he suffered another setback last July when he lost in the first round to Gaethje.
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