Saint Denis is hoping to use the slow moving lightweight title picture to his advantage by snagging a fight with No. 1 contender Tsarukyan in September.
Benoit Saint Denis is looking to bounce back after a tough knockout loss to Dustin Poirier in March. As far as “God of War” is concerned, the higher ranked the opponent, the better.
“It was an exciting fight with Dustin, it didn’t go my way,” he said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “ I made way too many mistakes against a world class opponent. I need to bounce back, and I want to show that I’m here for a reason. And I’m looking to the future with enthusiasm. I cannot wait to have the name of my next opponent. If it’s in Paris, that would be great.”
The UFC is set to return to France on September 28th for a UFC Fight Night event at the Accor Arena, and Saint Denis would be a great addition to that card. As for who he’d like to fight in a perfect world?
“I would love to face Arman Tsarukyan,” Saint Denis said. “It will be a great fight. Obviously he’s No. 1 contender, but Makhachev is not the most active champion. I don’t know if he’ll still be champion, but if he’s still champion, I think he will take some time off.”
An injury to whoever holds the lightweight title after UFC 302 could leave Tsarukyan on the shelf long enough that a fall fight with Saint-Denis could make sense.
“A lot of stuff can happen in this division,” he suggested. “Let’s see what happens, but of course, the guys that can put me as up as possible is what I would love. I think a fight against Arman Tsarukyan would be perfect, but I’m not the matchmaker of the UFC.”
But Tsarukyan may end up spending several months under suspension after he punched a random fan during his UFC 300 walk out. The matter is still under review by the Nevada Athletic Commission, with a decision pending.
No problem! So long as it’s a move up the rankings, sign Benoit up. He responded to Dan Hooker’s recent call out, saying he’d be happy to meet the New Zealand fighter in the cage.
“Yeah, why not?” Saint Denis said. “Dan Hooker is a tough fighter, he’s a good fighter. I’m looking to fight anybody in the top 15. As much as possible, I would like to face somebody with the best [ranking] next to his name. So if it’s Dan Hooker, it’s Dan Hooker. I would love it. Yeah, maybe No. 7, maybe No. 6, maybe No. 5.”