French lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis will look to make it two in a row at UFC Paris, after getting back in the win column against Kyle Prepolec back in May.
Prepolec was a last minute replacement; at UFC Paris this Saturday, BSD gets a higher-profile opponent in Mauricio Ruffy, part of the red-hot Fighting Nerds team.
Ruffy is ranked behind #13 Saint-Denis (14-3), a few spots back in the UFC’s top 15. Fighting down the rankings doesn’t seem to give Saint-Denis pause, however.
“It’s always about the way the fight goes, and to be honest, MMA is all about fighting as much as possible and winning as much as possible,” he stated during this week’s UFC Paris media day. “The opponent, it matters, but not as much as people think. The victory, and the quantity and quality of your fights is what matters most.”
Of course, Matusz Gamrot is the name Benoit Saint-Denis has most frequently been linked to over the past year. There have been exchanges online, barbs at press conferences, and so on.
“I would have loved to fight Matuesz Gamrot. It’s a huge fight, and maybe we will face each other one day,” stated Saint-Denis about the Polish lightweight, a former KSW champ. BSD also admitted to a bit of promotional trickery, urging Gamrot to sign a contract, though the Ruffy fight seems to be where the promotion was headed.
“We tried to make this fight happen. I have to do my job on Saturday, and we’ll see what the future gives us.”
The Gamrot question just wouldn’t go away this week, with Saint-Denis eventually giving a “No comment” when asked about his rival wanting to change his nickname from “God of War” to “God of Comfort.” What Saint-Denis did have to say on the matter, asked about calling Gamrot out, was that he’s feeling “honored and privileged to be in the top 15 of this division,” adding that “anybody inside the top 15 is a good fight. I want to fight as much as possible, but I’m fully concentrated on Mauricio Ruffy. Then we’ll see where it gets us from there.”
Watch the full UFC Paris media day appearance by Benoit Saint-Denis above.
