Military veteran Benoit Saint Denis extends INVITATION to French President Emmanuel Macron to attend UFC 299

Benoit Saint-Denis's UFC 299 matchup is turning out to be one of the most important in his life.

Military veteran Benoit Saint Denis extends INVITATION to French President Emmanuel Macron to attend UFC 299

Benoit Saint-Denis sends out a special invite for UFC 299 (Source: Twitter)

UFC 299 co-main event features lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis vs. former interim champion Dustin Poirier. After the latter expressed much dismay about not appearing in the historic UFC 300 card, this pairing saw fruition very recently. Accordingly, Saint-Denis has a special guest in mind. Taking to his X account, the Frenchman invited President Emmanuel Macron to the UFC 299 event. The fight is thus shaping up to be Saint-Denis’ biggest one yet.

Benoit Saint-Denis is #11 as a 155lber, trailing Poirier’s #3 ranking. ‘The Diamond’ has also headlined several events, while Saint-Denis is appearing in his first co-main. Despite higher rankings, Poirier, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings has opened a slight betting underdog for UFC 299. This only fuels the opponent moreover.

YouTube video

Saint-Denis (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) last defeated US Military veteran Matt Frevola at UFC 295. The fighter also went viral for thanking America for saving France in WWII. The fight card coincided with Veteran’s Day in the US which thus incited his tribute. In the post-fight Octagon presser, he made subsequent callouts to peers; the likes of Justin Gaethje, Islam Makhachev, and Mateusz Gamrot.

FS Video

Gamrot, concurrently, pitted against Poirier lately, prepping for the stacked UFC 299 card. Despite this though, St-Denis’ background, and his surprise guest, could be a big propellent to his win.

Can Benoit Saint-Denis’s militaristic background and training play a part in UFC 299?

Benoit Saint-Denis is to lock horns with Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 very soon. With Poirier nudging being ‘in a weird spot‘ amidst prolonged inactivity, the co-main event for UFC 299 was announced soon after. The 29-8 fighter has never lost consecutive fights during his 15 years in pro-MMA.

But that could all change, going up against Saint-Denis.

Military-trained Benoit Saint-Denis, faces Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 next
Military-trained Benoit Saint-Denis faces Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 next (Source: independent.co.uk/IMAGO/Twitter)

Saint-Denis served in the 1st Marine Infantry Paratroopers Regiment, assigned to the French Army’s Special Forces Command. He served in wartime Mali and generally in West Africa, fighting terrorist groups.

In September 2017, he received the Order of Merit of the People and the Fighting Cross. He left the commission in early 2019. Accordingly, many recent social media posts have been going viral lately, comparing a younger Saint-Denis (18) to a younger Poirier.

Primed as a French special air serviceman, the MMA bubble thus believes the fighter worthy of his moniker ‘God of War’.

A handful of fans have jibed at this, with comparison to Republic Party Nominee Donald Trump, and his love for combat sports. Additionally, a few have quipped at having seen ‘Inviting your President cage-side just to get obliterated‘ before, alluding to Colby Covington.

Nonetheless, nothing is set in stone yet, for UFC 299. But undoubtedly, the fighter’s combat acumen is sure to play a part in it.

In case you missed it: