Benoit Saint-Denis wants another crack at Dustin Poirier.
After coming up short against ‘The Diamond’ in March, Saint-Denis will look to bounce back when he headlines Saturday’s UFC card in The City of Light. Meeting him inside the Octagon will be streaking Brazilian standout Renato Moicano in a battle that could launch the winner into the lightweight division’s coveted top 10.
Speaking with the promotion ahead of his highly anticipated return at UFC Paris, the ‘God of War’ hopes that a decisive win against Moicano this weekend will earn him an opportunity to run it back with Poirier at some point.
“I fought a warrior and the only way to get back at him is to get the belt from Makhachev. The only thing Poirier doesn’t have is the undisputed UFC belt. Right now, I’m concentrating on Moicano, Moicano is my goal, getting that victory,” Saint-Denis told the promotion.“I’m very happy to be part of Dustin’s journey as a fighter because he is a great fighter, but I want it back. I will work for it and I have a lot of work to do” (h/t BJPenn.com).
After an exceptional opening round, Saint-Denis suffered a brutal knockout loss against Poirier in the second round of their UFC 299 clash.
Benoit Saint-Denis knows a win over ‘Money’ would be huge
With Poirier already having one foot outside the Octagon, it’s hard to imagine Saint-Denis ever booking a sequel scrap with ‘The Diamond.’ Regardless, ‘God of War’ only has one thing on his mind right now, and that’s getting his hand raised against another one of the lightweight division’s elite.
“I mean it’s huge, he’s only been losing to guys like Aldo, Ortega, Fiziev, top-five guys, elite guys, former champions stuff like that. Everything can go very fast with the UFC. it’s the way you fight, the way you engage, the way you promote fighting, and the UFC and mixed martial arts will give you the opportunity to rise and I’m here to do that,” Saint-Denis added.
Saint-Denis heads to Accor Arena on Saturday with an overall record of 13-2. Before his loss to Poirier, he was riding a five-fight win streak.