VIDEO: The god of war has fallen, the devil himself has defeated him. Poirier showed why he’s a UFC legend, handing the French soldier his first KO loss

He may be 35 years old now, but he is still not old. Dustin Poirier showed up at the UFC 299 gala in the main prelims of the event and faced the French God of War. The result? Diamond proved to be the devil himself.

He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore. At 35 years old, he’s a legend not only in the UFC, but in MMA as a sport as a whole. Dustin Poirier is one of the most attractive fighters of all time. He’s not afraid of a big challenge, on the contrary. He seeks them out.

He has beaten Conor McGregor twice, he’s the only man in MMA to beat him twice by KO/TKO. He’s 1-1 with the dangerous Justin Gaethje and the only one to beat Michael Chandler by submission. He’s also taken on Max Holloway once.

He came close to finishing Khabib Nurmagomedov on a submission in a title fight. He just didn’t get it done. The title is the only thing that keeps him from being one of the best fighters in history. But his place in the UFC Hall of Fame is definitely secure.

However, on the night of Saturday to Sunday during the UFC 299 gala, he faced another big challenge. He tested a rising star and a dangerous Frenchman. He was joined by Benoit Saint-Denis (13-1), who is feared by many.

Benoit is nicknamed God of War. He finishes his opponents on the spot. He commands respect. Just because of his story. He was in his country’s special forces. It’s obvious from the look of him that he’s gonna be a tough opponent. But Diamond handled him well.

Dustin Poirier scores another finish

In the main pre-fight of the UFC 299 gala, the legendary Dustin Poirier (29-8) faced the hungry and predatory Benoit Sait-Denis (13-1). The French fighter was even seen as the favorite, but Diamond had all the more motivation to show that he doesn’t belong in the old iron yet.

God of War was confident that he could match up with such an icon as well. Could he be far from the truth? How’s this. He didn’t put on a bad performance. He was more than a match for Dustin in the first round. We saw a spectacular and complex fight, beautiful exchanges in the stand-up and quality on the ground.

Poirier tried three times in the first round to set up a guillotine, but Saint-Denis always escaped. Instead, he got himself on Diamond’s back and attempted a choke. To no avail.

During the break between rounds, Dustin heard from his trainer that he shouldn’t try for more guillotines and that he shouldn’t play games with the Frenchman and overly respect him when he was one level above him. But what did he do first in the second round? He landed a good standup shot, of course, and then tried a guillotine. Unsuccessful.

Instead, Benoit took his opponent’s back and tried a rear-naked choke. Also unsuccessful. Instead, Poirier got to his feet and started landing punches. Not once, but several times. Finally, he dealt Saint-Denis his first KO defeat.

Poirier himself notched his 15th UFC lightweight finish, making him one of the most successful fighters in his division.

DUSTIN POIRIER WITH A SHOCKING COME BACK KO SAINT DENIS #UFC299 #UFC299Live #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/dKALTsBCYG

— eddie aranda jr (@ArandaEddie) March 10, 2024

Source: UFC, Twitter, Tapology