Islam Makhachev has been the lightweight champion of the world for approximately two years now, with no one in the division able to dethrone the undisputed king. Dustin Poirier tried to take the belt for himself at the UFC 302 but failed as he was stopped by the Dagestani in the fifth round. Well, now that the division is a bit silent, former French special force and UFC fighter, Benoit-Saint Denis has come forward to ascertain that he would be Makhachev’s nemesis.

‘God of War’ will be locking horns against Renato Moicano in front of the Parisian crowd at UFC Paris this weekend but even before the clash, Benoit Saint-Denis has come forward to emphasize his wish to fight Islam Makhachev. While having a conversation, ‘God Of War’ said, “My dream fight? Beat Islam Makhachev to become champion.” This is not the first time that the French fighter has taken aim at the lightweight champion.

A few months back, ‘God Of War’ caught the attention of the world when he called for a fight against Arman Tsarukyan. He said, “I would love to face Arman Tsarukyan. it will be a great fight. He’s obviously the contender number one, but Makhachev is not the most active champion… A lot of stuff can happen in this division. Let’s see what happens… I think a fight against Arman Tsarukyan would be perfect but I’m not the matchmaker of the UFC.”

Benoit Saint-Denis started his professional MMA career after leaving the French special forces, so it is a bit of a no-brainer to underestimate him. With a record of 13 victories and 2 defeats, he is one of the best in the division but is this enough to alert Islam Makhachev’s dominance? Well, the MMA fans might have some other thoughts.

Fans gave Benoit Saint-Denis a reality check as he calls out Islam Makhachev

Benoit Saint-Denis and Dustin Poirier fought in the UFC 299 co-main event in March. Interestingly, Poirier opened as an underdog in that fight but clinched the victory by way of knockout in the second round. In June, he tapped to Makhachev in the final round of their back-and-forth fight. Looking at this, a fan wrote, “Dustin couldn’t what makes you think you can.” 

‘God Of War’ was going through a harsh staph infection which hindered his performance in the fight but despite that fans called him out for his defeat against Poirier, “bro couldnt even beat poirier lol”

Fighting for the belt and defeating the champion of the division is the end goal for a fighter and an unsurprised fan wrote, “of course the champion of his division is his dream fight.” Well, Benoit-Saint Denis is 5-2 under the promotion and it might take him a few more fights to face Islam Makhachev.

After defeating Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299, Dustin Poirier was handed over a chance to defeat Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. However, the ‘Diamond’ failed to achieve success as he was stopped by Makhachev in the fifth round by way of submission. The former interim lightweight champion took Makhachev to deeper waters than any of his previous opponents. Looking at this, a fan wrote,  “Got walked by Dp last fight and Dp took Islam to the 5th in a good fight. You are a long long long Way from Islam”

Renato Moicano is currently riding a three-fight winning streak and getting past him would be difficult for Saint-Denis, and a social media user highlighted this –“He won’t pass moicano.” Last but not least, a netizen advised the fighter to improve his defense, “Better keep dreaming and at least build some boxing defense lol.”

Will Benoit Saint-Denis make it big under the division by defeating Islam Makhachev or will he just be another journeyman? State your thoughts in the comments below.