A rising star in MMA, Frenchman Benoît Saint Denis suffered a setback when he was knocked out by the experienced American Dustin Poirier on Saturday at UFC 299 in Miami. Saint Denis, who seemed to dominate the fight, experienced a violent end in the 2nd round (out of 5), knocked to the ground with a hook before being finished off with a right, leaving him on the ground, bleeding, under cheers. of the public, won over to his opponent.
Saint Denis yet given favorite of this fight
Given favorite of this lightweight fight, Saint Denis (ranked 12th) was knocked out by Poirier (3rd), a great aging UFC fighter (35 years old) who had twice dominated the legend Conor McGregor in 2021 but remained on a defeat the last year. “He hurt me, he is strong,” greeted Poirier after the fight, with respect for his French opponent.
“I took this fight because he had finished his previous five before the limit, even if he was not very well known. He is a dangerous guy. I have a lot of respect for Saint Denis, his condition of spirit. He will come back,” he added.
Former President Donald Trump in attendance
The fight took place before the eyes of former President Donald Trump, cheered by the crowd during a scripted finish. Trump, who campaigned during the day in the potentially key state for the presidential election of Georgia, is a regular at UFC evenings. In Miami, Saint Denis perhaps missed the opportunity to be offered a fight for the lightweight belt, he who had been enjoying an irresistible rise until then.
The former member of the special forces, who took up MMA late before joining the UFC in 2021, had five spectacular victories before the limit, the last of which in November 2023 against the American Matt Frevola.
On Saturday, “God of war”, his nickname, made his entrance as usual to the sound of commando singing and the emblematic “Seine-Saint-Denis style” of NTM. He immediately gave Poirier a suffocating first round, working him to the body, on the ground, girdling him, to try to submit him. A tactic which seemed to pay off as the American seemed exhausted by the Frenchman’s infernal pace.
Second defeat of his career
“BSD” attacked the second round (of five planned, five minutes each) with the same strategy, but was picked off by the lively fists of Justin “Diamond” Poirier. A first left uppercut made the Frenchman wobble, who then sought the clinch again.
Two terrible right-left hooks then reached Saint Denis, who was knocked to the ground by another right hook before being finished off by a violent punch while he was already lying in the middle of the octagon. “BSD” thus suffered the second defeat of its career and will have to go through intermediate battles before catching a glimpse of the summit.