Dustin Poirier will face Benoit Saint-Denis in the co-main event of UFC 299 on March 9. The bout will be five-rounds, per UFC CEO Dana White, who announced the matchup on January 7:
“The co-main event in Miami, March 9, UFC 299, will be #3 ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier vs. #12 ranked Benoit Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis is on a five-fight win streak with all five coming by finish before the third round.
“He’s been saying that he believes he’s the new BMF of the UFC, and he’ll have the opportunity to prove it against Dustin Poirier, who is an absolute savage and always goes to war. These two guys agreed to fight — but — they both wanted a five-round fight, so they got it.”
White via X
Poirier takes a notable step down in competition as he fights Saint-Denis, who sits nine spots below in the lightweight rankings. This is likely due to “The Diamond’s” shock knockout loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 in 2023.
Poirier and Gaethje fought for the ‘BMF’ title vacated by Jorge Masvidal. It was a relatively balanced affair until Gaethje threw an uncharacteristic head kick in the second round which almost knocked Poirier out cold. As White mentioned in his announcement, Poirier vs. Saint-Denis is a ‘BMF’ fight, which heavily implies the winner will soon get a shot at Gaethje.
Saint-Denis has picked up a lot of momentum with his five-straight finish victories. The 28-year-old French slugger had a tough debut, barely surviving a 15-minute beatdown from Elizeu Zaleski back in 2021. Since then, the “God of War” has looked like a force to be reckoned with in the lightweight division.
Hopefully, this combination of fan-pleasing styles can deliver on all fronts.
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