UFC lightweight contender Benoit Saint-Denis takes on Renato Moicano in the UFC Paris main event this coming weekend and the ferocious Frenchman has explained what he needs to do to earn a rematch against Dustin Poirier.
At UFC 299 earlier this year, Benoit Saint-Denis was handed only his second UFC loss when former interim champion Dustin Poirier knocked him out in round two, earning a title shot.
‘God of War’ has yet to fight since then, however, he did pick up a win over former UFC fighter, Marc Diakiese, in a grappling competition.
Benoit Saint-Denis wants eventual rematch against Dustin Poirier
Despite coming off the loss to ‘The Diamond’, the 28-year-old was afforded his first main event fight in the UFC as he takes on Renato Moicano in what is set to be an incredible back-and-forth fight this coming Saturday.
Sitting just outside of the top 10 in the lightweight division, Saint-Denis is hopeful that not too long down the line, he can earn a rematch against Poirier.
“He’s a great fighter and I think the only way I get a shot at him again is to take the belt from (Islam) Makhachev’s waist and then I will have something he hasn’t, and maybe we will do it (again),” Saint-Denis told ShakMMA.
“It’s the only way I see me having the honor and privilege to fight him again, so I have to work my arse off to get back in there and (back to) that place,” he continued.
Going into his fight against the Louisianan, ‘God of War’ was suffering from a staph infection and it was picked up on by the fans when his official fight images were released. Following the fight, the Frenchman explained how much it affected him during the two-round war.
Dustin Poirier calls for a trilogy fight against Justin Gaethje
Although Saint-Denis is hopeful of one day getting the opportunity to rematch Poirier, the 35-year-old has stated that his next outing will likely be his last.
Following his title loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, Poirier heavily hinted that he was going to call it a day on his career, however, shortly after, the veteran got itchy feet.
Since announcing he will fight again, the former interim champion has been waiting for the right opportunity to come his way and earlier this week, Poirier called for an epic trilogy fight against Justin Gaethje.
‘The Highlight’ is also looking to return for one last run at the title and Gaethje has expressed interest in a few different names.
One of which, was Dan Hooker, who after seeing Poirier’s tweet calling for a trilogy, he called for a rematch against ‘The Diamond’, with their first fight in 2020 being an all-time classic.
“You don’t really want that,” Poirier replied to ‘The Hangman’.