In a recent exclusive interview, Dustin Poirier shared his thoughts on Benoit St-Denis entering the bout while recovering from a staph infection. Dustin secured a second-round knockout victory against the ex-Special Forces member, Benoit St-Denis, at UFC 299.
Benoit later revealed that he was coming off heavy antibiotics, recovering from a staph infection. According to “The Diamond,” a veteran in the Lightweight division, Benoit should not have said anything about his condition, regardless of the outcome of the bout.
Dustin Poirier discusses Benoit Saint-Denis staph infection
After his first ever loss in the UFC, Benoit St-Denis took to X (Twitter), and expressed that he was very compromised throughout the bout due to a heavy amount of anti-biotics in his system.
Benoît Saint Denis describes his "very difficult" fight week for UFC 299.
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 20, 2024
"I was tired the whole week with a staph infection… I came a bit too heavy, so with the treatment I took, the weight was not going down as usual."
▶️ https://t.co/HGMCYdKYek #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/6Et6aNetXX
A week before the fight, at the start of media week for UFC 299, speculation arose among fans and the MMA community after observing St-Denis that he might have contracted a staph infection. Dustin Poirier, the former interim Lightweight Champion, shared his thoughts and wanted to offer some advice to Benoit, the up and coming French Lightweight.
Dustin Poirier is asked about Benoit Saint Denis’s staph infection having an impact on the fight:
— FightCrack (@FightCrack) March 22, 2024
“I think all of that’s just talk. You say those type of things when you win, you don’t say that when you lose…I’ve gone into so many fights with staph infection, with fractured… pic.twitter.com/WfJ4oJOEMy
“I think all of that’s just talk. You say those type of things when you win, you don’t say that when you lose. I’ve gone into so many fights with staph infection, with fractured foot, with lacerated bicep. That’s fighting,” said Poirier.
“Everybody has something going on going into fights but you can’t say that when you lose. You gotta hush it up,” concluded Poirier, expressing that revealing these things doesn’t do much but makes it feel like the fighter is making excuses.
Dustin Poirier vs Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 confirmed?
After the sensational R2 Knockout victory, Dustin Poirier proceeded to callout Islam Makhachev, the UFC lightweight champion, for a title defense. Both Makhachev, and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to express that they would be willing to make the matchup happen, as soon as June of this year.
Dustin Poirier took a huge risk tonight and came out on top and looked amazing. Dustin vs @MAKHACHEVMMA in June especially since everyone else has fights. If the UFC is good with this then Islam would be game.
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) March 10, 2024
Islam Makhachev also recently revealed in an interview with the MMA Junkie that this would be a significant fight for him, as Dustin is a huge name in the sport and has faced many legends and veterans, including Makhachev’s lifelong friend and now coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Ali mentioning to Dustin to get ready for June if he wins 👀
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 8, 2024
Islam Makhachev possibly returning at #UFC302??? pic.twitter.com/pS3nPbMPbh
Although no dates have been confirmed as of yet, Islam expressed his desire to fight in June, which could potentially be on the UFC 302 card.