Benoit Saint Denis is game to fight anyone – preferably the highest-ranked lightweight available.
Saint Denis (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) got a taste of the upper echelon of the division when he was matched up with current title challenger Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 in March, but was knocked out in Round 2. Saint Denis was battling a staph infection which he said heavily impacted his performance.
The rising French star is now looking ahead. Dan Hooker (22-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC) told The MMA Hour in April that the UFC offered him Saint Denis September in Paris, and Saint Denis is open to that fight.
“Yeah, why not? Dan Hooker is a tough fighter, he’s a good fighter so, I’m looking to fight anybody in the top 15,” Saint Denis told MMA Junkie. “I would like to face somebody with the best number possible next to his name. So if it’s Dan Hooker, it’s Dan Hooker. I would love it. Yeah, maybe No. 7, maybe No. 6, maybe No. 5.
“It was an exciting fight with Dustin, didn’t go my way. I made way too many mistakes against a world-class opponent, but now I need to bounce back and I want to show that I’m here for a reason, and I’m looking to the future with enthusiasm. I cannot wait to have the name of my next opponent. If it’s in Paris, it would be great. So yeah, let’s go.”
Saint Denis’ next taste of competition comes in the form of a grappling match against Marc Diakiese in the ADXC 4 headliner May 18 in Paris. The original opponent discussed was Arman Tsarukyan, who Saint Denis believes didn’t grapple him due to likely being the backup for Islam Makhachev’s title defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.
However, Saint Denis hopes he gets the chance to fight Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) someday.
“I would love to face Arman Tsarukyan,” Saint Denis said. “It will be a great fight. Obviously he’s No. 1 contender, but Makhachev is not the most active champion. I don’t know if he’ll still be champion, but if he’s still champion, I think he will take some time off.
“A lot of stuff can happen in this division. Let’s see what happens, but of course, the guys that can put me as up as possible is what I would love. I think a fight against Arman Tsarukyan would be perfect, but I’m not the matchmaker of the UFC.”