Dustin Poirier early underdog against Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299

The co-main event for UFC 299 will be a fight between two of the better finishers in the UFC. One of these fighters has stopped all the opponents he has defeated so far in the octagon. The other is known for being one of the most exciting fighters and has a ton of stoppage wins.

Fight details

Dustin Poirier will fight Benoit Saint Denis on March 9 at UFC 299 in Miami. This fight features two ranked lightweights. Poirier is the number three ranked lightweight in the UFC. Saint Denis is the number 12 ranked fighter in the division.

Despite being ranked much lower, Saint Denis is the early betting favourite heading into this fight on UFC betting sites. Saint Denis has -160 odds on Bet99. Poirier is a slight underdog at the moment. Poirier has +140 odds to get his hand raised and to get back in the win column.

TEN DAYS until the madness in Miami unfolds! 🌴

🏆🇺🇸 @SugaSeanMMA vs @ChitoVeraUFC 🇪🇨
🇺🇸 @DustinPoirier vs @BenoitSt_Denis🇫🇷

[ March 9th | #UFC299 | LIVE on PPV ] pic.twitter.com/3mWJ10tmwb

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) February 28, 2024

Benoit “God of War” Saint Denis

Since losing his UFC debut in 2021, Saint Denis is on a five-fight winning streak in the lightweight division. With all five of his wins in the octagon ending in a stoppage, there is an argument for Saint Denis being one of the best finishers in the division, if not the entire UFC, at the moment. Saint Denis has shown a ton of versatility throughout his time in the UFC. He has two submission victories and three KO/TKO wins. He has also shown the ability to wrestle and has power in his hands and feet. To make things worse if you are considering backing his opponent, Saint Denis has a strong chin and a ton of toughness, evident from his first loss in the UFC, a unanimous decision defeat to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.

Saint Denis has a couple of things going for him in this fight despite being the less experienced fighter in this bout. First, he has only one loss in his MMA career, three years ago. At 28 years old, Saint Denis will enter this fight as the younger fighter, and he has more momentum right now. He should have a good chance in this fight if he can take Poirier down and if he can defend while on his feet. His only loss was in a fight that was primarily fought on the feet. Saint Denis has shown much better striking since that loss, but Poirier has stopped some of the best fighters the UFC has to offer.

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier

Dustin Poirier has been one of the best fighters in the UFC for years now. Since 2016, he has only lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, and to Justin Gaethje in a recent fight at UFC 291 for the BMF title. But there are a couple of things to be concerned about if you are thinking about betting on Poirier. Poirier’s last fight was a KO/TKO loss to Gaethje, a vicious knockout via headkick. Although he is only 35 years old, he has been in the UFC for a long time, since 2011, and just lost his last fight by KO/TKO. Former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is the same age as Poirier and was in the same position as Poirier at UFC 298.

Volkanovski was knocked out by Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, the fight before his bout with Ilia Topuria earlier this month for the featherweight title. Volkanovski then lost his title to Topuria by KO/TKO. At 35, there should be questions about whether or not Poirier’s loss to Gaethje will hurt him moving forward. If Poirier is not the same when he returns on March 9, this should be a tough fight for him because of Saint Denis’ versatility. Poirier should have a decent shot in this one if the fight stays standing, especially if he has not declined since his last fight.

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