SUMMARY
- Benoit Sanit-Denis is a UFC lightweight fighter.
- Nicknamed "God of War," Saint-Denis has lived a very interesting life.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is truly a global venture and fighters from all parts of the world are a part of the company. However, France is a territory that the company has tapped into very recently. While French fighters such as Francis Ngannou, Ciryl Gane, and Manon Fiorot have burst onto the scene, the most exciting prospect from the country is the lightweight brawler, Benoit Saint-Denis.
Benoit Saint-Denis was born in Nimes, France on December 18, 1995, and started his MMA training in 2017. Nicknamed “God of War,” Saint-Denis made his MMA debut on February 16, 2019, against Marc Domont. Proving his grappling prowess, Benoit won the bout via a first-round submission. After that, he went on to have a 9-fight unbeaten streak and joined the UFC. However, his debut for the promotion did not go as planned for him.
On his UFC debut, the 28-year-old lost to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via a controversial unanimous decision. After the loss in 2021, the French fighter went on an unbeaten streak of 5 fights and all the wins came via stoppages. After beating Matt Frevola, Benoit called out Dustin Poirier for an epic lightweight clash. He got his wish as the match-up was booked for the UFC 299 main card. During the build-up to the event, some interesting connections between him and the French forces were unveiled.
Benoit Saint-Denis served for the French Air Special Forces before his MMA career
Benoit Saint-Denis has competed in four separate weight classes since his MMA debut in 2019. His first professional MMA fight came in the middleweight division and the second one came in the welterweight division. After that, his bout against Mario Saeed at Brave CF 38 came in the super lightweight (165lbs) division. Ultimately, his lightweight debut came against Niklas Stolze in his second UFC fight in June 2022.
However, Saint-Denis is no stranger to changes in his career. Before his adventure with MMA started, the 5’11 fighter was associated with the French armed forces. During the countdown show for UFC 299 ahead of his bout against Dustin Poirier, Benoit spoke about his past and revealed details about his army career.
He added, “I wanted to be a knight because the knight is the one who is protecting the weak against the strong.” Benoit added that his love for the army started because of his father who was also in the French army. He said, “My father was in the French Foreign Legion. He worked on missions outside of the country, so we moved a lot. I looked at his career and I knew it was partly the way I wanted to take.”
Speaking of his time in the military, Benoit added, “I became a French Special Air Service member, French Special Forces. Mostly what I did was counter-terrorism in the sub-Saharan band, against Boka Haram and a couple of different branches of Islamic State. I did protection of high-value personalities like the President, ministers, generals in a lot of different countries in Africa.”
He continued, “Also I did a lot of sensitive site exploitation, which is having a fat collection of the information you have on the ground to try to directly use it to have another action in the night. I worked my a*s off so I could be successful in it. After five years in spec ops, I was looking for my own adventure. In the army, you’re always under orders and I always wanted to be my own boss.”
“The last year of my career in the army, I was looking for fights because I already trained BJJ, I did the tryouts for Daniel Woirin’s professional teams,” said the fighter. It was evident that he wanted a change in his professional career and by the looks of it, he has made the right choice. Saint-Denis has fulfilled his dreams of serving in the French army and now he is on course to achieve his MMA dreams as well.
Saint-Denis has paid tribute to the Special Forces via his tattoo
Benoit Saint-Denis has lived a fascinating life so far. From serving in the French Special Air Forces to dominating opponents inside the Octagon, the “God of War” has seen it all. It looks like the military veteran also decided to pay tribute to his past in the armed forces through a tattoo on his chest. As the fans have noticed, he has a tattoo of a cross on his left pec. While it does have a religious sentiment behind it, the tattoo also holds a special place in his heart for its connection to the military.
“I was in the French Special Air Service and one of the mission of our group was to protect our president during the Mali events in 2016. When he went there after the conquest of the airport in Mali and the fights against local terrorism,” Benoit said during an interview with TNT Sports.
He also has two other tattoos on his body as well. While the ‘Shogun’ tattoo on his right bicep is an homage to his BJJ coach Kristoph Savoka, the other tattoo is of ‘Joan of Ac’ on his back. The inks on his body tell a story of spirit and defiance that has made Benoit Saint-Denis the strong man that he has become at a relatively young age.