setback for Frenchman Benoît Saint Denis, knocked out by American UFC star Dustin Poirier

The Frenchman was knocked out by the American Dustin Poirier, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, during UFC 299 in Miami (Florida). This is his second career defeat.

A rising star in MMA, Frenchman Benoît Saint Denis was stopped in his tracks by being knocked out by the experienced American Dustin Poirier, Saturday March 9, during UFC 299 in Miami (Florida). Saint Denis, who seemed to dominate the fight, experienced a violent end in the middle of the second 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 the cheers of the public, won over to his opponent.

Given favorite of this lightweight fight, Benoît Saint Denis (ranked 12th in the world) was knocked out by Dustin Poirier (3rd), a great aging UFC fighter (35 years old) who had twice dominated the legend Conor McGregor in 2021 but who remained on a defeat 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.

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 of Georgia for the presidential election, is a regular at UFC evenings. In Miami, Benoît Saint Denis perhaps missed the opportunity to be offered a fight for the lightweight belt, he who had until then enjoyed an irresistible rise.

Second career defeat

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. “BSD” thus suffered the second defeat of its career and will have to go through intermediate battles before catching a glimpse of the summits. During the next fight, the last and main one of the evening, the American Sean O’Malley retained his bantamweight belt against the Ecuadorian Marlon Vera unanimously by the judges.