Benoit Saint-Denis is one such fighter who has raised quite a lot of hype and excitement regarding the lightweight division after it being dominated by familiar faces like Makhachev, Oliveira, Gaethje, and Poirier. He made his UFC debut in 2021 but suffered a decision loss, majorly due to his fight being on short notice.
Ever since, he cut down to lightweight from welterweight and went on a thrilling finish streak which put him on the map of one of the premier divisions of the company. His appearance and fighting style put him in a spot for calling out the bigger names of the division, and he went right at the top by calling out Dustin Poirier following a brutal knockout win.
What did Benoit Saint-Denis do before his UFC career?
Knowing the origin of Saint Denis’s story makes him even more intimidating. Before his MMA career, the French-born fighter served in the 1st Marine Infantry Paratroopers Regiment, a unit of the French Army Special Forces Command. Additionally, he was a French Special Air Service (SAS) operator in Mali during the war and more broadly in West Africa, combating terrorist groups.
As Saint-Denis secured the biggest fight of his life against Dustin Poirier at UFC 299, fans became intrigued to learn more about his journey and how he arrived at this point. Following Benoit’s revelations about his early life, fans rallied behind him even more, acknowledging that he has “literally seen war” and supervising fights in an octagon should be a manageable task for the Frenchman.
Any fighter who transitions into combat sports after a life of actual combat in service to their country already deserves respect from the world even before their achievements. Observing Saint-Denis’s relentless fighting style tells us all we need to know about how much his early life contributed to him becoming a force not to be reckoned with.
How did Benoit Saint-Denis react to UFC 299 loss?
As Saint-Denis and Poirier began their battle, the Frenchman took the upper hand by mounting Poirier with his pressurizing strikes along with well mixed takedowns. His work in the first round pushed Benoit to be one up over Poirier. However, being the veteran he is, Dustin was quick to make adjustments and find his signature boxing rhythm, which ultimately led to a sequence where Saint-Denis got brutally knocked out.
After his bout, Saint-Denis stated that he was not at his best in the fight, due to taking antibiotics in preparation for the fight, as he reportedly suffered from a staph infection. He said, “My body didn’t keep up after a week of antibiotics to fight an infection. Throughout I was present but my body absent, it did not react as usual. I only had one round to give you.”
The 28-year old Frenchman’s career has only begun and after all he has gone through in his early life, it is beyond apparent that he will learn from this hard loss and come back better and stronger than ever.
