UFC 299 continues to stack up and last night we learned what the co-main event will be for the March card. Dana White arrived back in Las Vegas after a vacation and took to social media to announce a pair of big time fights. One of those fights was the co-main event of the March 9th PPV.
White announced that former interim champion Dustin Poirier (29-8) has signed on to fight surging top contender Benoit Saint-Denis (13-1). The kicker with this one is that it’s a five-round co-main event as requested by both Poirier and Saint-Denis.
Saint-Denis lost his UFC debut back in 2021 after entering the promotion a perfect 8-0. However, since that initial setback, he’s been sensational. Saint-Denis has won five straight fights and he’s finished all five opponents. He’s stepped up the competition along the way and most recently he knocked out Matt Frevola in November.
UFC 299
I’m not going to lie, I’m a little surprised that Dustin Poirier took this fight. The Diamond has been on record saying that at this stage in his career, he only wants big fights or fights that get him nervous. Saint-Denis is a monster and I can see why he’d take the challenge, I’m just a little surprised he’s fighting someone outside the top ten.
Most recently, we saw Poirier take on Justin Gaethje in a BMF title fight at UFC 291 in July. Like their first fight, it was very back-and-forth until Poirier got knocked out with a perfect head kick. That loss followed Poirier’s sensational submission win over Michael Chandler which happened last November.
Since 2017, Poirier has only lost to Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He has wins over Gaethje, Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, and Chandler during that timeframe as well. Poirier still wants to become undisputed UFC champion and this might be his final run towards the title.