UFC 315 suffers blow as fighter pulls out of PPV main card against French berserker, days before event

UFC 315 PPV loses main card fight for French striker Benoit Saint-Denis just days before promotion's official return to Montreal.

UFC 315 suffers blow as fighter pulls out of PPV main card against French berserker, days before event

Benoit Saint-Denis to bounce back from consecutive TKO slumps, loses UFC 315 opponent (Source: X)

UFC 315 PPV marks the promotion’s long-awaited return to Montreal for Canadian UFC/MMA fans following. Champ Belal Muhammad stars at the PPV event headliner, May 10 in Montreal, QC, Canada, against Jack Della Maddalena. It would also mark Valentina Shevchenko‘s maiden defense in her glorious second reign. But, with a fighter pulling out at the 11th hour of the card taking form, Benoit Saint-Denis is now left out wanting.

UFC 315 suffered a major setback in a pivotal 155-pound bout between two KO artists just days before the pay-per-view event. UFC lightweight Joel Alvarez has pulled out of his scrapper vs. Benoit Saint-Denis; French MMA publication ‘La Sueur‘ (@LaSueur_off on X) reported the matter first. It is yet unknown if ‘God of War’ gets a new short replacement name or pulls out himself.

It’s a disappointing turn for Alvarez, who snagged up arguably his biggest win at UFC Tampa (aka UFC on ESPN 63) in December. That would be a close-quarter highlight KO of Drakkar Klose with a flying knee to continue his surge in the 155-pound ranks and roster.

Alvarez is on a three-fight win streak since a loss to top lightweight name Arman Tsarukyan (2022). During his current streak, he has finished notables like Marc Diakiese, Elves Brener, and then Klose.

Meanwhile, the UFC CBO, matchmaker Sean Shelby would be on a hard scramble for a new name against #13-ranked lightweight Saint-Denis. There’s no shortage of talent in the lightweight roster. But the convoluted scenario has most of those names grazing very close to the top. As of now, the fate of this pairing or what happens to the French striker is entirely unknown.

UFC 315 could have been point of redemption for lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis after recent loss

UFC 315 was shaping out to be a high-stakes matter for many. After some topsy-turvy matchmaking and two pullouts by the champ and top seed, the welterweight crown was in action. Shevchenko was putting her power and glory to the test again after dethroning Alexa Grasso, and starting another flyweight title reign against Manon Fiorot.

Benoit Saint-Denis yet to make a mark back
Benoit Saint-Denis yet to make a mark back (Source: X)

Meanwhile, there were other intriguing matchups and returns to happen at the pay-per-view event. UFC 155-pounder Benoit Saint-Denis was looking to rebound from the first losing streak of his tenure.

Saint-Denis booked a showdown with Dustin Poirier with a head-kick KO of veteran Matt Frevola at UFC 295. After a gritty to-and-fro, he dropped one to Poirier via second-round TKO at UFC 299 PPV in Miami, snapping a five-fight win streak. Reportedly, he had incurred Staph during that run and could not perform to his fullest.

Lightweight berserker Benoit Saint-Denis was hence looking forward to bouncing back better with enormous amped up feelings. Saint-Denis then headlined UFC Paris in September with a TKO loss (doctor’s stoppage) to Renato Moicano. His losses to Moicano and Poirier stand as the only stoppage losses of his career.

Before that, the Team CYFIT striker ran through a slew of 155-pound who’s who, including Thiago Moises and Ismael Bonfim. Saint-Denis was on a roll after dropping his UFC debut to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC 267 and made his mark. Now, it remains to be seen if he can hold out strong after the UFC 315 shuffle and bounce from consecutive TKO slumps.

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