Fast riser Ismael Bonfim’s sophomore effort in the UFC came against former French Special Forces operative Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC Vegas 76.
Bonfim’s star got on the map with a second round flying knee knockout of Terrance McKinney at UFC 283 to start 2023. Part of one of the highest-potential brother pairs in the UFC, Ismael faced a tough, well-rounded challenge in St. Denis, who is 2-1 in the UFC. After being on the wrong side of a beatdown in his debut, Benoit has won two straight fights by finish and attempted to steal Bonfim’s hype at UFC Vegas 76.
St. Denis came out southpaw and threw a big body kick but got countered with a hook to the head. He slammed body kicks repeatedly. Many of them landed on the arms of Bonfim but he was still being kept at bay because of them. One minute in, Benoit shot a takedown and got on top in full mount. St. Denis rained down damage with short shots but Ismael exploded upwards and reversed the position. Saint-Denis avoided going to his back and the fight returned to striking. Bonfim landed a big overhand left that rocked the Frenchman and then a big knee when St. Denis shot a takedown. Ismael defended this attempt better as well as doing damage during and right after it.
Benoit began to get predictable as he came in with a right hand then a level change to a takedown multiple times. With two minutes left he held a rear body lock on Bonfim against the fence. He worked to push Bonfim to the mat and then got one hook in and rolled to his back, taking Bonfim with him. St. Denis got both hooks in and then a body triangle as he looked to attack the rear-naked choke in the final minute of the first round. He got the arm across the face and was at first unable to finish. However he kept trying, finally got the arm across the chin, and forced Ismael Bonfim to tap with just twelve seconds in the round.
Benoit Saint-Denis got the biggest win of his career and took some of his opponent’s earlier hype at UFC Vegas 76. With this, the Frenchman set himself up well for a potentially big fight at UFC Paris in September of this year.
Official Result: Benoit Saint-Denis def. Ismael Bonfim by Submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:48
