Benoit Saint-Denis’ remarkable growth in the UFC has been nothing less than extraordinary. He has absolutely walked through the lightweight division so far, with five straight stoppage wins in the 155 lbs division.
But all this did not happen in a single day. Behind Saint-Denis is an excellent team of coaches and training partners, most notably his MMA coach, Daniel Woirin, who carries the same goal as him: get the UFC Lightweight Championship.
The former French Muay Thai fighter used to be one of the best during his time. However, an unfortunate shin injury forced him into retirement. But Woirin immediately transitioned to the coaching side and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA coaches of all time.
Daniel Woirin is no stranger to UFC glory. While he currently trains the young Benoit Saint-Denis, Woirin has also coached former champions, including Anderson Silva, on three separate occasions during his historic reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion.
UFC fighters who have trained under Daniel Woirin
The Black House Gym veteran currently trains at his own academy, the Woirin Team Elite, which was founded in 2019. According to Tapology, besides Benoit Saint-Denis, other fighters who train under Daniel Woirin include Romain Debienne, Matthieu Duclos, Jorick Montagnac, Emerson Silva, and Gaeta Traina.
Woirin also worked with Anderson Silva during his title fights against Dan Henderson in 2008, Patrick Cote in 2009, and Thales Leite once again in the same year. The Muay Thai veteran would later train Benson Henderson in Strikeforce, helping him become the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion with a stoppage win over Rafael Cavalcante in 2011.
Titled “Striking for MMA“ by Daniel Woirin, the French mixed martial arts coach has also penned a book where he writes about his striking techniques and how to adopt Muay Thai inside the MMA cage.
What did Daniel Woirin say about Benoit Saint-Denis’ first loss?
Benoit Saint-Denis suffered the first loss of his MMA career on his UFC debut in October 2021 at UFC 267. Speaking about the loss in a recent appearance on UFC’s official YouTube channel ahead of UFC 299, here’s what Saint-Denis’ coach said.
“He doesn’t like the taste of defeat. Benoit is like the young wolf; he’s got everything to prove, and he is going to go for it,” Woirin said, optimistic about Benoit Saint-Denis’ chances at becoming a UFC Champion, and rightfully so.
The 28-year-old UFC fighter is scheduled to take on Dustin Poirier in arguably the biggest fight of his career in a special 5-round co-main event of UFC 299. Needless to say, a win over the former interim champion could catapult him into title contention.