“He’s gonna whoop Poirier” – Ex-military Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis’ preparation to fight Dustin Poirier leaves fans in awe

Rising contender Benoit Saint-Denis prepares for his lightweight affair against Dustin Poirier, at UFC 299.

“He’s gonna whoop Poirier” – Ex-military Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis’ preparation to fight Dustin Poirier leaves fans in awe

Fans react to 'God of War' Benoit Saint-Denis' new training regime (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

Lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis squares off with Dustin Poirier at UFC 299. Poirier, the former interim titleholder has been on a long hiatus. The 155lber is looking to rebound from his KO loss to Justin Gaethje. This happened in their “BMF” title fight this past August at UFC 291. The lightweight mainstay recently divulged being in a weird place waiting for a prospective opportunity to reignite him. And that came in the form of military veteran Benoit Saint-Denis.

Saint-Denis meets him in a 5-round co-main event at UFC 299 on March 9 from Kaseya Center in Miami. He last defeated US Military veteran Matt Frevola at UFC 295. The fighter also went viral for thanking America for saving France in WWII in the aftermath. Recent footage shows the Frenchman doing core pulls, one-arm dip-and-crawls, backward farmer’s carry, and other rigorous exercises. The video comes from the fighter’s IG account.

YouTube video

It has naturally excited many in the fight bubble. One prominent reaction noted – “He’s gonna whoop Poirier, I don’t think people understand.” Despite ‘The Diamond’ ranking as #3 in official listings, and #4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, the challenger has stepped ahead. Saint-Denis has already opened up the betting favorite to Poirier’s underdog for the UFC 299 affair. The new footage instills more hope for the discipline of the former military.

FS Video

And fans have accordingly voiced their support; not the first time even. Poirier recently engaged in a fun banter responding to a Saint-Denis fan threatening the American star, on similar sentiments. However, there do exist people with the opposite thought process as well.

Fans react to Benoit Saint-Denis’ preparation for UFC 299 face-off

French combatant Benoit Saint-Denis dukes it out with lightweight Dustin Poirier at UFC 299. Accordingly, the military veteran has been prepping for it as well. Aligning with Poirier’s recent team-up ahead of the stacked UFC 299 card, such instances thus excite the MMA community.

Benoit Saint-Denis faces Dustin Poirer next, at UFC 299
Benoit Saint-Denis faces Dustin Poirer next, at UFC 299 (Source: Twitter/bloodyelbow.com)

Poirier has an immaculate record. The fighter has never lost back-to-back bouts during his 15 years in pro-MMA. Concurrently, the 155lbs mainstay is one of the few people who have come up victorious against then-peer ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor.

Saint-Denis served in the 1st Marine Infantry Paratroopers Regiment, assigned to the French Army’s Special Forces Command. Hence, the rising contender is no joke either. And here’s how some fans have reacted to his new training footage –

https://twitter.com/MameronCagee264/status/1750992099888300079?s=20
https://twitter.com/NBMUIG2/status/1751025463051407591?s=20

With a 100% finish rate, Saint-Denis has stopped his last five opponents, most recently scoring a Performance of the Night head kick win at UFC 295.

Speaking during the UFC 297 episode of his ‘Fight Companion‘ on Spotify, even commentator Joe Rogan hyped up his chances by saying he has been the better fighter recently.

However, not all fans echo this. Similar to Drake’s curse, another one that exists is the ‘showcasing training curse’, within the promotion. With the likes of Tony Ferguson (trained with Ex-Navy SEAL David Goggins) losing out UFC 296, fans are not fond of the same thing happening again.

However, some fans do genuinely favor the Frenchman in winning the bout when the time comes.

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