It’s all systems go for Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 next month (Sat., March 9, 2024).
Saint Denis’ Miami, Florida Lightweight co-main event dance partner, Dustin Poirier, threw the mixed martial arts (MMA) world into a frenzy with worry about the match up’s cancelation last week (Feb. 1, 2024). Thankfully, it all boiled down to a “miscommunication” on Poirier’s end, which ultimately kept the fight intact.
It was revealed shortly after Poirier’s initial comments of the fight being off that Saint Denis and his coach were unaware of the bout’s authenticity until it was announced by UFC CEO, Dana White, last month (Jan. 8, 2024). Saint Denis says that he was informed about the fight being aligned, as seen in his texts with White, but didn’t expect the immediate aftermath.
“I did know the fight was going to happen the night before,” Saint Denis said on The MMA Hour. “We agreed, everything was agreed. But like my manager said, when it’s not announced, you are not 100 percent sure. We had the green light from [UFC CBO] Hunter Campbell, but my coach is a very energetic guy, so he’s always the last guy we are telling the fight is on, because he’s going to get crazy all night long watching his fights. So if it was not going to be the guy we are fighting, he was not going to be happy about the announcement.
“The day after I [was surprised] that it was announced this fast, because it was only 24 hours after we agreed to make the fight, because it’s this far away,” he concluded. “I didn’t know when it was going to be announced, but of course, I was surprised it was announced this fast.”
Poirier will be the biggest fight of the rising contender, Saint Denis’, 15-fight career (13-1, 1 no contest). In terms of star power at present, it’s night and day between the Lightweight contenders, and for “God of War,” he believes that’s why some additional sorting out may have come into play for “The Diamond.”
“Not on all sides,” Saint Denis said when asked how far along the fight was to being agreed upon prior to Poirier’s tweet. “On our side everything was clear. We had a message from the main matchmaker of the UFC, we agreed for the fight, everything was okay on our side.
“I’m not a big star like Poirier, so I’m still pretty fresh in the game, so I don’t have the politics in my pocket, and it’s not a game I’m used to playing or I have ever played,” he continued. “I’m just going to try to do what I’m good at, taking people’s heads off and climbing the rankings and getting ready for this fight. I imagine when you have been this long in the UFC, there’s a lot more talk with the show, a lot more stuff. But yeah, really happy to have this guy in front of me the ninth of March.”