Tag: Benoit Saint Denis

UFC 299 results: Dustin Poirier violently KOs Benoit Saint Denis in Round 2, ties lightweight record

Dustin Poirier placed his name back in title contention and in the history books with a violent KO of Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] is now tied for the UFC lightweight knockout record after recording a violent finish at UFC 299.

In the co-main event at Kaseya Center in Miami, Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) met Benoit Saint Denis’ pressure with accuracy. Despite giving Poirier trouble, Saint Denis (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) ended up on the wrong end of a violent knockout at 2:32 of Round 2.

The fight started fast, and held that same pace until the conclusion.

After an initial exchange of hard leg kicks, Poirier countered a takedown by jumping on a guillotine choke. The attempt appeared tight initially, but Saint Denis was able to flip over and escape from the hold. The clinch fighting continued and Saint Denis found his way to Poirier’s back momentarily.

They would return to the center and striking exchanges followed. Hard punches from Poirier were offered, but Saint Denis pressed forward with hard short elbows and knees in the clinch.

The pace was incredibly fast for a fight scheduled for 25 minutes.

Poirier attempted to jump on another guillotine, but it wasn’t there. Saint Denis ended up on the back after a scramble, and nearly locked up an armbar before the horn, but Poirier signaled to the crowd that it wasn’t secured.

Round 2 started with heavy pressure from Saint Denis. Despite his corner asking him to abandon the guillotine attempts, Poirier jumped on another one. Again, the result was Saint Denis escaping, and taking his back. The fight would return to standing, though, where they traded punches in a phone booth against the cage.

After a resetting, they quickly continued trading punches, but Poirier connected with a flush left hand that rocked Saint Denis. Recognizing the damage, Poirier turned up the intensity and put the finishing touches on his opponent, ending with a violent right hook and an exclamation point follow-up punch.

Poirier’s knockout finish ties Drew Dober for the most in lightweight history (9). The result places “The Diamond” back into the win column, and perhaps back in title contention. The 35-year-old former interim champion has traded wins and losses over his last four fights, but firmly remains among the elite of the division.

 

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Up-to-the-minute UFC 299 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

Benoit Saint Denis didn’t worry about Dustin Poirier fight status, looks forward to ‘enjoyable moment’ at UFC 299

Now that it’s almost here, Benoit Saint Denis is relishing his big career opportunity at UFC 299.

MIAMI – Things might’ve looked a bit shaky for [autotag]Benoit Saint Denis[/autotag]’s chances of getting a marquee matchup, but he was never worried.

The rising UFC lightweight contender returns to the octagon this Saturday to face veteran Dustin Poirier in the co-main event of UFC 299 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).

About a month before the event, Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) posted on X that the fight against Saint-Denis (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) was off and told MMA Junkie he had never officially signed a contract despite UFC CEO Dana White announcing the matchup a few weeks prior. Poirier later said the fight was on and that the post was a “misunderstanding.”

Saint-Denis was never worried about the status of the fight, despite it’s brief uncertainty.

“Negotiations in the top 15 (are) always difficult,” Saint-Denis told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC 299 media day on Wednesday. “It goes through a lot of processes. I have a great manager, who’s doing a good job, and it worked out with the UFC. I got this fight, and now I get to do my job, which is fighting.”

He then added, “At the beginning of that I had suspicions he was injured, but it was not the case. There were no doubts in my mind, except negotiation from his part with the UFC. There was nothing there to be afraid of. It solved itself very fast.”

Saint-Denis is currently on a five-fight wining streak with all victories coming by stoppage. He viciously knocked out Matt Frevola in November in his most recent bout.

Saint-Denis expects to keep the violent train going this weekend.

“It’s one more step, a very tough one, and I’m happy I’m getting this one,” Saint-Denis said. “I’m expecting a tough fight. I’m well prepared. And I’m expecting a tough and enjoyable moment in the octagon.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

UFC 295 medical suspensions: Jiri Prochazka, Sergei Pavlovich among 19 suspended indefinitely

Nineteen indefinite suspensions were handed out after UFC 295, per the New York State Athletic Commission.

UFC 295 took place Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York and featured 13 fights.

On Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a list of athlete medical suspensions from the New York State Athletic Commission, the sanctioning body that oversaw the event. Most injury specifics were not disclosed.

Nineteen of the 26 combatants were given indefinite suspensions and will need to be cleared by a doctor before they return. That’s a high number of indefinite suspensions compared to the average UFC event, although the NYSAC may have different safety protocols compared to other regulatory bodies. All 26 fighters were also given mandatory suspensions, which vary from seven days to 90 days.

Check out the full list of medical suspensions from UFC 295 below.

UFC 295 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 295 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event at Madison Square Garden in New York.

NEW YORK – UFC 295 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from Madison Square Garden in New York.

You can hear from all the UFC 295 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.