Paris, France — With three straight wins under his belt now under the UFC banner, Benoit Saint-Denis has finally got to show off his full skillset in the promotion. Despite that, the UFC Paris lightweight has not forgotten about what happened in his promotional debut back in 2021.
“First of all, the UFC debut should be a No Contest because the guy got popped two months after our fight occurring, like a lot of guys,” Saint-Denis (11-1, 1NC) told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC Paris media day. “I will talk about this problem about drug testing later on, but it’s a problem in our sport. But I understand it, because it’s a pretty new sport, and you agree to fight under those conditions when you are a UFC fighter or any type of MMA fighter.”
What is most remembered from that fight, with Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, is the toughness of France’s Saint-Denis. He explained his mindset to that end, noting that “of course, if I need to go through a fight and I’m not winning it, I will do everything I can to win it. If I need to get knocked the f*ck out or I need to get submitted by doing that, I will go through, you know? Because all I want is a victory. If there is a 1% chance to get the victory by putting myself in danger, I will do it. So you will never see me doing a boring fight. If I’m losing a fight, I can tell you I will take risks.”
“This is what I did with [Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos] and although I had only two or three years of MMA practice, I think I’m getting better and better. And now I’m in my weight class. So short notice, not in my weight class, against an opponent that was ranked.” Saint-Denis also believes he shouldn’t have taken the fight, given Zaleski dos Santos was winning his fight with Muslim Salikhov, a formidable foe in his own right. But he accepted it nonetheless, as much as he would like the result overturned.
Ahead waits Thiago Moises, another Brazilian foe. That match is one that has Benoit Saint-Denis upbeat.
“I’m very happy because I’m looking for a tough fight, and he’s a guy that can give me what I’m expecting to have inside the octagon of the UFC. He’s well-rounded, he got only finished by the champ and good finisher that is also from out of top 15, Joel Alvarez. So yes, he’s a tough fighter, and I think he thinks he’s better than me in everything. I think the same. Let’s see who is right on that, and he can expect a tough fight this Saturday.”
Watch the full UFC Paris media day appearance by Benoit Saint-Denis above.
