Aside from the Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan fight at UFC 300, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Sunday that the promotion has also arranged the Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis fight. The two will join the UFC 299 lineup as the co-main event complementing the Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera fight on March 9 in Miami.
IM BAAAAAAACK!!!
Two more fight announcements 👊🏻👊🏻#UFC299 5-round co-main, Poirier vs Saint-Denis#UFC300 Number one contender fight, Oliveira vs Tsarukyan pic.twitter.com/aSPZtGEnAT
— danawhite (@danawhite) January 8, 2024
This is good news for Saint-Denis, who expressed interest in facing Poirier earlier. Last November, “God of War” shared a list of names of the fighters he would like to fight next after making his success at UFC 295 by defeating Matt Frevola on the event’s main card. Poirier was one of the names highlighted by the French.
“He [Poirier] just lost, he’s ranked, and he has to fight a guy behind him because he’s on the loss,” the fighter said in November. “I know he’s a big name, but I’m going to be an even bigger name if I’m working like that.”
Fortunately for Saint-Denis, White shared that Poirier is also interested in the fight and that both parties asked for the bout. With this, the two will face in a five-round co-main event at UFC 299.
The fight will mark Poirier’s return after experiencing a KO loss to Justin Gaethje in July 2023. Meanwhile, Saint-Denis will enter the cage boasting a five-fight winning streak. Despite this and Poirier coming from a recent loss, this doesn’t mean the fight will be easy for Saint-Denis. As a UFC veteran, “The Diamond” faced and defeated huge names in the MMA industry, including Bobby Green, Gaethje (in 2018), Max Holloway, Michael Chandler, and Conor McGregor (twice in 2021). With this, while it could be considered a huge opportunity for the 28-year-old, it would be a tough fight against a Goliath in the cage.