Rivalries: Benoit St. Denis

Opportunities abound for Benoit St. Denis, whose fan-friendly style and compelling backstory have made him a must-see attraction in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.

The 28-year-old Frenchman will draw his first headlining assignment with the company when he collides with Renato Carneiro in the UFC Fight Night 243 main event on Sept. 28 at Accor Arena in Paris. St. Denis, a former Special Forces operator in the French Army, enters the five-round affair having recorded five wins across his past six outings. He has delivered all 13 of his professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, seven of them inside one round.

As St. Denis approaches his forthcoming showdown with Carneiro at 155 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

The CM System rep laid claim to a one-sided unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten St. Denis in a three-round UFC 267 welterweight prelim on Oct. 30, 2021 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Zaleski dos Santos swept the scorecards from the promotional newcomer with 29-26 marks from all three judges. St. Denis was simply outmatched in terms of firepower. A fairly competitive first five minutes gave way to a difficult-to-stomach second round that bordered on cruel and unusual punishment. Zaleski dos Santos battered and bloodied the Frenchman with sweeping hooks from both hands, knee strikes from the clinch and various other weapons. St. Denis managed to withstand the assault—referee Vyacheslav Kiselev could have intervened on more than one occasion—but had little left in the gas tank with which to return fire. Zaleski dos Santos’ pace slowed down the stretch and he was docked a point for an inadvertent low blow, but by then, the lead he had built was insurmountable.

Ismael Bonfim

St. Denis started to accelerate his rise through the lightweight ranks when he tapped the well-regarded Brazilian with a face crank in the first round of their featured UFC on ESPN 48 attraction on July 1, 2023 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Bonfim bowed out 4:48 into Round 1, suffering his first setback in more than nine years. Operating in the shadows of the Sean Strickland-Abusupiyan Magomedov headliner, St. Denis executed a pair of takedowns, progressed to the back and slid his arms into the place. He then tightened his squeeze until the pressure and pain became too much for Bonfim to bear. The defeat snapped a career-best 13-fight winning streak for the Cerrado MMA export.

Thiago Moises

The “God of War” turned away Moises with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 226 lightweight showcase on Sept. 2, 2023 at Accor Arena in Paris. St. Denis brought it to an emphatic close 4:44 into Round 2. The Woirin Team Elite standout seized the reins at the start and never let them go. St. Denis within the first five minutes threw punches with convicting, crowded the former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion in the clinch, struck for a takedown and opened a cut near the Brazilian’s right eye with a standing-to-ground elbow strike. Not much changed in the middle stanza. St. Denis bullied the American Top Team mainstay to the floor, heated up his ground-and-pound again and drew the curtain with a volley of unanswered right hands to the head.

Dustin Poirier

The American Top Team star rallied from an inauspicious start to bury St. Denis with punches in the second round of their UFC 299 lightweight co-main event on March 9, 2024 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. St. Denis flummoxed the Louisiana native with stifling pressure for much of the first round, where he ripped the body with power punches and targeted the head with elbows. He struck for a takedown late in the period, moved to the back with a body triangle and eventually threatened with an armbar. Poirier survived, drawing upon battle-tested guile and years of experience. St. Denis pressed forward again in Round 2 and powered into mount at one point. Poirier freed himself, floored the Frenchman with a straight left, flirted with a guillotine choke and recocked his guns. He then dropped St. Denis again, this time with a clean right hook, and sealed the deal with a savage standing-to-ground shot. The setback snapped St. Denis’ five-fight winning streak.