Benoit Saint Denis had an enormous alternative in entrance of him at UFC 299, and he wasn’t going to let something cease him from taking it, together with a brutal struggle camp, in addition to a staph an infection.
Dustin Poirier ended up knocking Saint Denis out in Spherical 2 of the March co-main occasion in an unimaginable battle. As Saint Denis prepares to headline Saturday’s UFC Paris occasion in entrance of his house crowd, he mirrored on the teachings realized from difficult one of many biggest lightweights of all time.
“I realized quite a bit,” Saint Denis informed MMA Combating. “First, I realized that you need to underestimate no one, particularly prime fighters like that, and you may’t go on the market not being wholesome. That’s large. However, regardless of that, I realized quite a bit. Nothing comes by mistake, I consider if I had this staph an infection this late into my camp, it’s as a result of I used to be confused and I took no pleasure in my coaching camp.
“I had plenty of stuff, new stuff to handle that I used to be not used to. If you change into anyone within the sport, you then have the shoulders of a CEO as a result of you may have all of the workers and the administration round you, lots of people and also you cope with the brand new stuff that’s tough to when it’s model new. It takes time to have that have. I consider being on the prime can be a [tough] expertise, and with the ability to handle your schedule and to nonetheless benefit from the means of being a fighter. It’s an important factor and to make the folks which can be with you happy with your efficiency, and to have folks with you that you just wish to make happy with the efficiency you’re gonna ship.
“So that is vital. We made plenty of changes and I’m actually comfortable now. And I took pleasure in coaching and I’ll benefit from my struggle.”
Saint Denis revealed his staph an infection following the loss, which led to a horrible weight lower, and only a unhealthy struggle week basically. Deep down, Saint Denis thought of withdrawing, however after weighing his choices, he felt both means could possibly be doubtlessly disrespectful to Poirier; face him at lower than one hundred pc, however nonetheless have the prospect to attain the largest win of his profession, or really feel like “The Diamond” wasted weeks and weeks of coaching to not struggle.
“It was disrespectful to go on the market towards a man of this stage being in such a nasty situation,” Saint Denis stated. “But it surely was additionally disrespectful to name the struggle [off] throughout struggle week [for a fight] the man has been making ready laborious for. It was a dilemma for me and it had been bringing plenty of stress throughout the struggle week to not know what to do. It was a tough state of affairs.
“, I consider guys like Khabib [Nurmagomedov], and prime [teams] that they’ve plenty of expertise. They’ve referred to as plenty of fights throughout the struggle week due to a nasty lower, or due to a staph an infection. And yeah, it was laborious for me as a result of me and my staff, we’re coming, not out of nowhere, however I used to be the primary man of my staff to co-headline such an occasion and to be at this stage although. We don’t have expertise with these form of alternatives. So Tuesday [of fight week] we [made] the choice to undergo and to do no matter I can within the situation that [I was] in.
“It was a tough, it was unhealthy occasions however I feel like I stated, it doesn’t come by chance. I’ve been via this case as a result of I had an absence of professionalism in managing my stuff [with] my weight, and plenty of stuff that I needed to professionalize. .. It was an enormous struggle, large alternative for me, but it surely was a coaching camp the place I used to be al virtually in despair. So I consider should you [want to perform], you wish to have large efficiency, you need to be comfortable to do what you like, and after which be comfortable to ship the most effective efficiency you may to all people.”
With hindsight being what it’s, the teachings realized outweighed the outcomes from UFC 299. Poirier went on to problem for the light-weight title, developing brief in a Battle of the 12 months contender at UFC 302 in June.
Saint Denis didn’t let that get him down, and in the long run, the story of that loss is a vital chapter within the “God of Warfare” story.
“I can’t have regrets as a result of it’s a lesson,” Saint Denis stated. “All of the stuff that went unhealthy [before the fight I had to manage], however I’ve completely no regrets as a result of I used to be fortunate sufficient that the struggle went properly for me for so long as it went. So I’m a fortunate man.”
