UFC 299 in Miami has its co-main event, and that fight will see the return of Dustin Poirier.
It won’t be against Nate Diaz or Conor McGregor, but Poirier (29-8, 1NC) has nevertheless been booked into a high-profile lightweight match-up, taking on Benoit Saint-Denis (21-3) in a five-round fight on March 9, 2024.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the news in a video clip posted to social media late Sunday/early Monday morning. It will be Poirier’s first fight since a loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291, in the second-ever “BMF” title fight.
“The co-main event in Miami, March 9, UFC 299 will be #3-ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier versus #12-ranked Benoit Saint-Denis,” White stated in the video. “Saint-Denis is on a five-fight win streak with all five coming by finish inside the third round. He’s been saying he believes he’s the new BMF of the UFC, and he’ll have the opporunity to prove it against Dustin Poriier.”
“These two guys agreed to fight, but they both wanted a five-round fight so they got it.”
Poirier has a win over Michael Chandler sandwiched between losses to Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, with the “Do Bronx” fight a failed shot at claiming the UFC lightweight championship.
Saint-Denis as noted has won five straight with five finishes, and is coming off a victory over Matt Frevola that earned a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 295 in November.
UFC 299 is headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champ Sean O’Malley and rival Marlon “Chito” Vera. The PPV card set for March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami currently features the following reported match-ups:
Sean O’Malley (c) vs. Marlon Vera — for the UFC bantamweight championship
Dustin Poirier vs. Benoît Saint-Denis
Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Maycee Barber
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong
Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
Lauren Murphy vs. Karine Silva
C.J. Vergara vs. Assu Almabayev
