UFC lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis is eyeing an impressive strength of schedule for his return to the octagon ahead of two big European cards this summer.
The main event of UFC 302 this weekend features Islam Makhachev taking on fan-favorite veteran Dustin Poirier for the lightweight title; but it could very well have been the ‘God of War’ in there with the champion, had he not dropped a dramatic loss to ‘The Diamond’ earlier this year.
Benoit Saint-Denis lays out path to his UFC return
UFC lightweight contender and former French special forces operative Benoit Saint-Denis was riding a dominant five-fight finishing streak when he ran into ‘The Diamond’ at UFC 299 back in March of this year.
Now, the ‘God of War’ is planning his return to the octagon and speaking to MMAFighting, Saint-Denis noted that he “wants to fight as soon as possible” as he laid out a path to potentially competing twice in just two months:
“I don’t know if it’s going to be [Manchester], I don’t know if it’s going to be Paris, but my manager is doing great work, he’s working with the UFC to find the best place for me to compete.”
“If I can be on both cards, I will be on both cards,” teased the 13-2 Saint-Denis, before reiterating that, “If it’s going to be just Paris, it’s great as well – it’s a great opportunity [and] I just want to fight.”
UFC 304 goes down on July 27 from the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester (although the main card appears to have been filled already), with the UFC set to return to Paris’ Accor Arena on September 28.
When it comes to who he’d like to face in his UFC return, at either the UFC 304 card in Manchester or the UFC Fight Night card in Paris, the 28-year-old threw out a variety of names – although he doubts whether any of them will come to fruition:
“The names that are interesting to me the most are [Islam] Makhachev, [Arman] Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje, Poirier, all those guys… But, of course, you need to earn that. I will fight anybody that the UFC is going to give me, but I want to fight as high as possible.”
“In my last fight, I had a lot of stuff going on, but I’m more determined than ever to become the champion. I need to work a lot and I’m ready to do it. I’m on my way. I’m just waiting for the next opportunity.”
Benoit Saint-Denis weighs in on this weekend’s UFC 302 main event
Having been the last athlete to have been in the UFC octagon with Poirier, it’s no surprise that Benoit Saint-Denis is eagerly awaiting the main event title fight this weekend in New Jersey.
“It’s a great fight,” said the #13 ranked lightweight contender, stating that “Dustin Poirier is a very composed and experienced fighter,” and adding how “I do believe he has boxing on his side, but Makhachev is very well-rounded.”
“I do believe he has watched my fight against Poirier, as well as Dustin’s fight with [Charles] Olivera. Everybody knows what the game plan is going to be. It’s going to be Makhachev trying to submit Poirier, and Poirier trying to knock out Makhachev.”
According to the French juggernaut, the champion has far more options available to him when it comes to finishing the fight: “Makhachev can knock out or submit Poirier. But I see Poirier only having the knockout win.”
Whilst Saint-Denis opted not to share an official prediction for who he thinks will have their hand raised on June 1, he did give the advantage to Makhachev if the fight ends up going into the championship rounds.
Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier is your main event for UFC 302, scheduled to go down on Saturday, June 1 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.