Benoit Saint-Denis
God of War
France
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.
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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.
Late re-booking for UFC 315
Saint-Denis will now take on Kyle Prepolec in a lightweight matchup at UFC 315 on Saturday in Montreal, Nolan King of USA Today reports.
ANALYSIS
Originally scheduled for a matchup with Joel Alvarez, Saint-Denis was left without an opponent after a hand injury forced the former's withdrawal. In steps the 35-year-old Prepolec, who is a former UFC lightweight that has bounced around on the regional circuits for the last few years. It's the effectively the perfect bounce-back opportunity for Saint-Denis, who is on a two-fight skid but will be a massive favorite here.
Originally scheduled for a matchup with Joel Alvarez, Saint-Denis was left without an opponent after a hand injury forced the former's withdrawal. In steps the 35-year-old Prepolec, who is a former UFC lightweight that has bounced around on the regional circuits for the last few years. It's the effectively the perfect bounce-back opportunity for Saint-Denis, who is on a two-fight skid but will be a massive favorite here.
Won't face Joel Alvarez
Saint-Denis won't face Joel Alvarez at UFC 315 in Montreal on May 10 due to a hand injury sustained by Alvarez, Irati Prat of MARCA reports.
ANALYSIS
It's unclear if Saint-Denis will either fight against another opponent, or if the fight will be scrapped from the card. Saint-Denis slipped in 2024 with back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, so he definitely needed a positive outcome in his next fight, regardless of whether it's against Alvarez or somebody else.
It's unclear if Saint-Denis will either fight against another opponent, or if the fight will be scrapped from the card. Saint-Denis slipped in 2024 with back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, so he definitely needed a positive outcome in his next fight, regardless of whether it's against Alvarez or somebody else.
Next fight scheduled
Saint-Denis is scheduled to compete against fellow lightweight Joel Alvarez at UFC 315 in Montreal on May 10, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Saint-Denis slipped in 2024 with back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. A win over Alvarez will definitely be needed just for the Frenchman to maintain legitimate contender status. Saint-Denis' next opponent is 7-1 in his last eight fights.
Saint-Denis slipped in 2024 with back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. A win over Alvarez will definitely be needed just for the Frenchman to maintain legitimate contender status. Saint-Denis' next opponent is 7-1 in his last eight fights.