Benoît Saint Denis and the secrets of an express rise to the UFC

To be a good MMA fighter, it is necessary to perform in multiple areas. Benoît Saint Denis particularly excels in one of them: confrontation. And the most important part of his career is ahead of him. On the night of March 9 to 10, in Miami, the fighter will face Dustin Poirier. If that name doesn’t mean anything to you, he’s the one who beat Conor McGregor twice and almost sent the latter into retirement.

In short, Poirier is a true star of MMA, while the 28-year-old Frenchman only wears, in the eyes of the general public, the cape of the hungry wolf, who climbs the ranks at great speed. Indeed, Saint Denis only has seven years of MMA training under my belt. Imagine that a football player plays in a Champions League quarter-final after kicking his first ball in his twenties.

Obtaining such a fight, only a year and a half after a first victory in the UFC, requires thoughtful management work. From his first steps in the professional cage in 2019, “God of war” signed up with the Bulgarian Top Team (BTT), one of the French flagships of MMA fighter management. Giom Peltier, at the head of the company, remembers the beginnings of the beautiful story. In 2016, Daniel Woirin, MMA coach and friend of the manager, informed him of an extraordinary athlete spotted during detection. The fact remains that at this precise moment, in the eyes of the boss of the BTT, “he was just a good amateur to whom I gave a chance”.

Make the fighter a true professional

After two first appearances folded before the limit, Giom Peltier realizes that he is probably holding a nugget. We are in 2019, Saint Denis is 23 years old and is already showing great things in the cage. From there, you have to think about building a career. “On the third opponent, I went down a notch to protect him and Benoit stepped on him,” recalls the manager. Another affordable fight to increase his record to four victories and zero defeats and the time has come to take a step forward.

To do this, two essential elements: “More light to start marketing the fighter and above all so that he is paid correctly,” explains Giom Peltier. “Ensure that MMA is his only source of income.” At that time, the man in the shadows managed around ten fighters at Brave, a recognized organization which organizes fights around the world. In short, it whispers in the ear of the “matchmakers” and benefits from opportunities to choose opponents within a much more competitive league.

The victories keep coming at Brave, the mayonnaise is starting to take hold. But even though the team knocks on the door, the UFC remains closed. The holy grail for almost every MMA fighter, the American league already has ranks well-stocked with many elite brawlers. So, you have to be cunning.

The UFC wall

“You have to keep up to date with the news when a fighter is injured just before his fight to offer your guy as a replacement,” reveals Giom Peltier. In October 2021, bingo: Elizeu Zaleski’s opponent is out three weeks before the deadline and no one is offering to replace him at short notice. Benoît Saint Denis, who has never refused an opponent, takes the bet.

After a very short preparation for a duel in a weight category that is no longer his, the native of Nîmes suffered the first defeat of his career at the end of a spectacular and ultraviolent fight. So much so that the referee who officiated in the cage was suspended by the UFC for not stopping the proceedings. The pass of arms is available on Youtube, sensitive souls, refrain.

Benoît Saint-Denis knocks Matt Frevola down in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd

Any regrets in the Saint-Denis clan? Surely not. “I saw it as a very big risk,” recalls Giom Peltier. “But let’s imagine that we don’t have the opportunity later. We stay at Brave, where you are not safe from taking a bad hit or get injured in a fight and lose. And if that happens, you have to start again with a series of two, three years of good results to offer your fighter to the UFC.” There are three fights left on the Frenchman’s contract, he has to shine now.

After this first setback, there is no more room for error. The UFC sometimes fires newly signed fighters after two consecutive losses. The choice of opponents becomes crucial. Fortunately for the Frenchman, everything comes together well. The organization’s “matchmakers” only offer affordable names, ideal for getting started. First the German Niklas Stolze in June 2022 then the Brazilian Miranda (check first name) during the first UFC Paris in September. Two resounding victories, almost too easy for “God of war”.

A nice welcome rebound. Especially since at this stage, the risk of facing a big name would have been weighed twice. “The possibility is to refuse a fight that seems too hot to you or to declare an injury that does not exist, it is done to dodge, confesses Giom Peltier. If I had been offered a crack, I would perhaps have played the vice…”.

The Frenchie has made a name for itself

Difficult to find opponents now. It is still too early to claim to be looking for big names in the lightweight category. And the fighters who find themselves between two waters, like Saint Denis, are beginning to fear him. The situation is resolved when the management team offers the UFC a confrontation with Ismael Bonfim. A rising Brazilian MMA star. A judicious choice since the opposing camp “accepts in less than 24 hours”, explains Peltier, at the origin of the good idea.

When it was made official, observers thought the step was too high for the ex-soldier. Many even criticize the BTT for its choice of management and see the meeting as providing cannon fodder for the rise of the young Brazilian. Giom Peltier was on the front line: “I got shit on by 75% of French MMA observers”. The victory in the first round is all the more resounding.

Benoît Saint Denis is now legitimate to ask for bigger. First with Thiago Moises in the Top 20 of his category, which he finished in the second round to the cheers of the Parisian public in September 2023. Then in the Top 15, with Matt Frevola, knocked out on a high kick in the first round in front of a stunned Madison Square Garden.

Five spectacular victories in a row, all before the limit, we must now aim for the stars. Among the UFC lightweights, we tend to talk about meteorites. The debate is open as to whether a weight category has ever been so dense in the history of the organization. Between the injured and the names already placed on fights, one profile seems obvious, that of Beneil Dariush. The American is coming off two defeats and needs to get back on track, he sees Saint-Denis as an opportunity.

Giom Peltier is moving forward in the negotiations, but keeps one idea in mind: why not aim higher? Discreetly, he submitted the idea to the UFC of an opposition against Dustin Poirier and tried to convince: “I tell them that I think that ‘BSD’ is on the rise, Poirier is coming off a defeat, it’s a opportunity to rebuild against someone less well ranked. It’s interesting to promote a little one who is hungry against an old one, etc….”

He was initially refused. But through perseverance and a little luck, the pieces of the puzzle fit together. “What saved me was the announcement of the fight between Ngannou and Joshua,” assures Peltier. Since the Cameroonian fighter left the UFC with a bang in 2022 when he was champion, Dana White, the boss of the organization, kept a grudge against him.

With each big media release by Francis Ngannou, the UFC promotes a fight made for the French public. Here, the officialization of Saturday’s meeting in Miami arrived a few hours after that of the boxing match between Joshua and Ngannou. History that the eyes of French castagne lovers look elsewhere. Peltier now holds the career accelerator to transform his foal into an MMA star.

Not sure that the French public is completely disinterested in the Cameroonian. On the other hand, on the morning of the 10th, many will have red eyes from having stayed up late into the night so as not to miss anything of the five five-minute rounds between Saint Denis and the American. Perhaps they will have witnessed the birth of a big name in French combat sports.