UFC 299: Dustin Poirier Booked for 5-Round BMF Eliminator Fight
Dustin Poirier will face Benoit Saint-Denis in a five-round co-main event at UFC 299 on March 9. UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup on January 7.
"The co-main event in Miami, March 9, UFC 299, will be #3 ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier vs. #12 ranked Benoit Saint-Denis," White announced. "Saint-Denis is on a five-fight win streak with all five coming by finish before the third round.
"He's been saying that he believes he's the new BMF of the UFC, and he'll have the opportunity to prove it against Dustin Poirier, who is an absolute savage and always goes to war.
"These two guys agreed to fight --- but --- they both wanted a five-round fight, so they got it."
Poirier made his last appearance in a rematch with Justin Gaethje for the BMF title. Gaethje won the bout by second-round head kick knockout and remains the UFC BMF champion.
Despite suffering one of the most one-sided beatdowns in UFC history against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in his UFC debut, Saint-Denis has made a remarkable return to form. The French fighter has since scored five victories with five finishes, over notable names such as Ismail Bonfim, Thiago Moises, and Matt Frevola.
As White mentioned, the bout is for BMF fame, so it's hard to believe that Saint-Denis isn't fast-tracked to a fight with current BMF title holder Gaethje if he defeats Poirier.
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