Benot Saint Denis wants the title, but it’s likely not the one most think about.
Saint Denis (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC), a top contender in the UFC’s lightweight division, has set his sights on first capturing the UFC’s “Baddest Motherf*cker” belt, and not the undisputed lightweight title. That’s right, following his TKO win over veteran Dan Hooker (24-14 MMA, 14-10 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC 325 in Sydney, the Frenchman made his intentions clear in wanting the winner of Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira — the two competing for the BMF title at UFC 326 in March.
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“I’m fully focused on anybody inside the top five, but specifically on the BMF belt,” Saint Denis told reporters at the UFC 325 post-fight press conference. “That’s my first interest. My first point of interest is to fight the winner of Charles and Holloway or the winner of Justin (Gaethje) vs. Ilia (Topuria). But if it has to happen, I’ll fight Arman (Tsarukyan), of course, and I will take his spot.”
Saint Denis, 30, is currently on a four-fight winning streak. Since suffering back-to-back stoppage losses in 2024, Saint Denis has finished Kyle Prepolec, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush, and now Hooker. He’s happy with his latest victory, which came in enemy territory, but does admit there are certain things he could’ve done better.
“I feel great, but I just feel I had a little bit of adaptation tactically to make distance management because he had a good tee (kick) and I focused a little bit too much at the beginning of the fight on catching that kick,” Saint Denis said when reflecting in his win. “He was very good with it. I did the timing only one time, so a couple of times I was waiting too long for that, but then I was like, ‘OK, f*ck that. I’m going to be on my English boxing, little steps, and I’m going to break the distance and bring him war, and I’m not going to accept the kicking distance, I’m going to bring the heat.'”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Benoit Saint Denis prioritizes BMF title over UFC lightweight belt
