Dustin Poirier Breaks Silence After Joe Rogan’s Unexpected Benoit Saint-Denis Remark for UFC 299

Dustin Poirier will make his comeback to the sport after his defeat against Justin Gaethje. At UFC 299, the 35-year-old is set to face Benoit Saint-Denis. The French mixed martial artist is one of the biggest lightweight prospects in the UFC. Not to mention, he has been endorsed by Joe Rogan.

In the past few months, The UFC commentator has been all praise for the prospect. In addition, Rogan has even warned the American fighter to not take his opponent lightly and consider him as a formidable challenge that he is. Thereafter, in an interview, the Louisiana fighter was asked about his thoughts on Rogan’s comments. What did he have to say?

Dustin Poirier agrees with the warning given by Joe Rogan

Rogan is very interested in this match-up. He has been vocal about his opinions on this clash for several months. Back in January, he said that the French combatant is a very skilled fighter and lauded him by stating, “I’m telling you, that Benoit Saint-Denis is next level.” While he praised him, he also sent some words of caution to the American fighter. He added, “Him vs Dustin is very exciting, and Dustin better be ready to go.”

In the recent interview, when asked about Rogan’s comments, Poirier revealed that he was not aware of his assertion made by the UFC commentator. He said, “I do listen to the Rogan podcast, but I didn’t listen to that one.” That being said, he was also in agreement with Joe Rogan, as he too was all praise for his opponent.

In the same interview, he added, “He only lost one time, by decision… I think he’s a dangerous young, hungry guy with everything to gain, so that’s what I’m expecting.” He added, “I haven’t seen a whole lot of weaknesses… He seems pretty well-rounded.”

It is safe to say that there is respect between the two combatants. However, at the outset of this fight, Poirier was not expecting him to be fighting the lightweight prospect. Why? Let’s find out.

An unexpected opponent for Poirier

Before this fight was confirmed, Poirier said he was expecting to fight a veteran of the sport like Rafael Dos Anjos. However, he was asked to face Saint-Denis instead, which was something unexpected. That being said, he did not shy away from it and accepted it. 

While recalling the sequence of events, he said, “I thought it was going to be a more well-known fighter because, in my head, I was like, maybe a legacy fight, maybe RDA, maybe another former champ. I don’t know; I thought the offer I’d get from the UFC would be something more like that.”

Read more: Dustin Poirier Reacts to Joe Rogan’s Warning About Benoit Saint-Denis; Fans Pick Sides – “Take It With a Grain of Salt”

From the aforementioned comments, it can be safely said that Poirier is the type of fighter to fight anyone and anywhere. This is one of the traits that make him such a fan-favorite fighter. What are your predictions for this fight? Share with us your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

Read more: UFC 299: Dustin Poirier Admits Expecting Rafael Dos Anjos Instead of Benoit Sanit-Denis From Dana White & Co.