This past weekend at UFC 322, we saw a pivotal lightweight matchup kickoff the PPV main card. Beneil Dariush (23-7-1) was trying to defend his spot in the top ten of the lightweight rankings as he took on Benoit Saint-Denis (16-3).
Both men were incredibly hungry for this win and they both needed it to continue rising up the ranks. A few years ago, I would’ve loved Dariush in this fight, but it just felt like it was BSD’s time heading into this one.
Dariush started well with a few powerful leg kicks including one that spun Saint-Denis around. However, they then clinched and BSD unloaded some huge shots in the clinch which sent Dariush to the canvas. The fight was called in just 16 seconds for Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 322.
What’s next after UFC 322?
Entering 2024, Benoit Saint-Denis felt like he was one win away from a title shot. He was facing Dustin Poirier and he started out really strongly in that fight. However, Poirier ultimately knocked him out in the second round and then BSD had an awful showing later in the year against Renato Moicano.
Entering 2025, you wondered whether or not BSD could legitimately challenge the top UFC lightweights. Well, he’s responded incredibly well this year with three wins all by finish capped off by this knockout of Beneil Dariush.
In the rankings update that came out today, Benoit Saint-Denis is currently ranked 8th in the division taking Dariush’s spot. In terms of what’s next for BSD, there are two guys right around him in the rankings that make a lot of sense.
One guy in front and the other behind with Mateusz Gamrot and Rafael Fiziev. Either one of those guys make a ton of sense for BSD and if he wins that, he could only be a win away from serious UFC lightweight title consideration.
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