Benoit Saint-Denis
God of War
France
Gets another top contender
Saint-Denis will take on Dan Hooker in a lightweight matchup at UFC 325 on Jan. 31, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
After dropping back-to-back fights in 2024, Saint-Denis has bounced back in emphatic fashion, picking up three straight stoppage victories, including a first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush at UFC 322 in November. He'll now draw Hooker, who lost a title eliminator to Arman Tsarukyan just a week later. BSD will give up slight height and reach advantages to Hooker, but he offers a much more significant grappling threat and technically has superior striking numbers -- both offensively and defensively. He'll likely enter as the betting favorite.
After dropping back-to-back fights in 2024, Saint-Denis has bounced back in emphatic fashion, picking up three straight stoppage victories, including a first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush at UFC 322 in November. He'll now draw Hooker, who lost a title eliminator to Arman Tsarukyan just a week later. BSD will give up slight height and reach advantages to Hooker, but he offers a much more significant grappling threat and technically has superior striking numbers -- both offensively and defensively. He'll likely enter as the betting favorite.
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Third straight stoppage win
Saint-Denis defeated Beneil Dariush via KO (punch) at 0:16 of Round 1 at UFC 322 on Saturday in New York City.
ANALYSIS
BSD has some power, but he's not typically known as a one-punch knockout type of guy. Here, he was able to dispatch Dariush in seconds despite the fact the latter missed weight by by 1.2 pounds Friday morning. Saint-Denis responded to a low kick and knee up the middle from Dariush with a left hand to the side of the head. Beneil went crumbling face down to the mat and was done for good following one follow-up shot. BSD's back-to-back knockout losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano last year are a thing of the past. Saint-Denis has won three in a row, all via stoppage, in the span of the past six months. He'll also take home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts here.
BSD has some power, but he's not typically known as a one-punch knockout type of guy. Here, he was able to dispatch Dariush in seconds despite the fact the latter missed weight by by 1.2 pounds Friday morning. Saint-Denis responded to a low kick and knee up the middle from Dariush with a left hand to the side of the head. Beneil went crumbling face down to the mat and was done for good following one follow-up shot. BSD's back-to-back knockout losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano last year are a thing of the past. Saint-Denis has won three in a row, all via stoppage, in the span of the past six months. He'll also take home a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts here.
Scheduled against heavier Dariush
Saint-Denis is scheduled to compete against Beneil Dariush in a catchweight fight at UFC 322 in New York City on Saturday, MMA Fighting reports.
ANALYSIS
Saint-Denis and Dariush were scheduled to compete in a lightweight fight for the UFC's annual event at Madison Square Garden. Dariush missed weight by 1.2 pounds, so a lightweight bout is no longer possible. Saint-Denis has agreed to a catchweight fight, with him receiving 20 percent of Dariush's purse. The former will look to finish his 2025 with a 3-0 record. Saint-Denis submitted Kyle Prepolec at UFC Montreal in May and did the same to Mauricio Ruffy just over three months later in Paris.
Saint-Denis and Dariush were scheduled to compete in a lightweight fight for the UFC's annual event at Madison Square Garden. Dariush missed weight by 1.2 pounds, so a lightweight bout is no longer possible. Saint-Denis has agreed to a catchweight fight, with him receiving 20 percent of Dariush's purse. The former will look to finish his 2025 with a 3-0 record. Saint-Denis submitted Kyle Prepolec at UFC Montreal in May and did the same to Mauricio Ruffy just over three months later in Paris.
Grapples way to upset victory
Saint-Denis defeated Mauricio Ruffy via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:56 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Paris.
ANALYSIS
It's a massive rebound performance from Saint-Denis against a very dangerous opponent. Knowing full well of Ruffy's fight-altering power, BSD didn't mess around and went straight to his grappling game. He fired off one head kick early on to keep Ruffy off balance and went to wrestling from there. He got three takedowns with ease, the final of which put him in position to clamp on the rear-naked choke which ended the fight. It's easy to forget that Saint-Denis is still just 29 years old. He could very easily get back on track and make a run in a loaded lightweight division.
It's a massive rebound performance from Saint-Denis against a very dangerous opponent. Knowing full well of Ruffy's fight-altering power, BSD didn't mess around and went straight to his grappling game. He fired off one head kick early on to keep Ruffy off balance and went to wrestling from there. He got three takedowns with ease, the final of which put him in position to clamp on the rear-naked choke which ended the fight. It's easy to forget that Saint-Denis is still just 29 years old. He could very easily get back on track and make a run in a loaded lightweight division.
Fighting Ruffy in September
Saint-Denis will take on Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Paris on September 6, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Saint-Denis will head into the fight looking to build positive momentum coming off a recent submission victory over Kyle Prepolec in May. The 29-year-old French fighter will have to overcome a slight reach disadvantage in comparison to the Brazilian. With a perfect 10-0 professional record in submission finishes, Saint-Denis will undoubtedly be looking to use the ground game to take down Ruffy, though he will have to remain wary of the Brazilian's stopping power (11-1 record in KO/TKO finishes).
Saint-Denis will head into the fight looking to build positive momentum coming off a recent submission victory over Kyle Prepolec in May. The 29-year-old French fighter will have to overcome a slight reach disadvantage in comparison to the Brazilian. With a perfect 10-0 professional record in submission finishes, Saint-Denis will undoubtedly be looking to use the ground game to take down Ruffy, though he will have to remain wary of the Brazilian's stopping power (11-1 record in KO/TKO finishes).
Dominates late-notice replacement
Saint-Denis defeated Kyle Prepolec via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:35 of Round 2 at UFC 315 on Saturday in Montreal.
ANALYSIS
Saint-Denis found himself in a very tough spot here. He agreed to face the returning Prepolec just a couple days ago following the withdrawal of Joel Alvarez (hand). He entered on a two-fight losing streak and had nothing to gain as a -1600 favorite. It set up as an ideal bounce-back spot for BSD, and to his credit, he took full advantage. He landed 3-of-5 takedown attempts and 5:32 worth of control time in a fight which lasted less than eight minutes. He connected on multiple huge elbows and closed the show with an arm-triangle choke. Perhaps the UFC will look to re-book the bout between he and Alvarez. It seems to be the fight that makes the most sense at the moment.
Saint-Denis found himself in a very tough spot here. He agreed to face the returning Prepolec just a couple days ago following the withdrawal of Joel Alvarez (hand). He entered on a two-fight losing streak and had nothing to gain as a -1600 favorite. It set up as an ideal bounce-back spot for BSD, and to his credit, he took full advantage. He landed 3-of-5 takedown attempts and 5:32 worth of control time in a fight which lasted less than eight minutes. He connected on multiple huge elbows and closed the show with an arm-triangle choke. Perhaps the UFC will look to re-book the bout between he and Alvarez. It seems to be the fight that makes the most sense at the moment.