Benoît Saint Denis (born December 18, 1995) also known by his initials BSD, is a French professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of June 11, 2024, he is #12 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

Background

Benoît Saint Denis was born in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

, on December 18, 1995 as the eldest of five brothers. His father was a French Army officer who practiced judo at a good level, and his mother was a teacher. Saint Denis has been training in judo in France and Germany from the age of 8 to 16 and earned a

black belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

. He also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and rugby union in his youth. Prior to his MMA career, Saint Denis was a member of the 1st Marine Infantry Paratroopers Regiment, a unit of the

French Army Special Forces Command The Army Special Forces Command (french: Commandement des forces spéciales Terre, COM FST) regroups the various special operations forces units of the French Army and is the command charged with overseeing them. It is based in Pau, Pyrénées ...

. He served as a French Special Air Service (SAS) operator in Mali during the war and more generally in West Africa, fighting terrorist groups. He was awarded the Medal of the Nation's gratitude and the Combatant's cross in September 2017. He left the army after five years of service in March 2019.

Early kickboxing and BJJ career

Saint Denis began kick-boxing with

Stéphane Susperregui Stéphane Ippo Susperregui (born 31 August 1984) is a French kickboxer. He is the current WKN World Oriental Rules Heavyweight and former WKA K-1 World Heavyweight champion. He is ranked as the fifth best light heavyweight in the world by Comba ...

and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

(BJJ) with Christophe Savoca in 2017 in the

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

region close to his regiment. He also competed in BJJ, winning the medium-heavyweight (under 88,3 kg/194 lbs) division, in blue belt, at the 2017 West Zone Championship in France. He participated in the 2017 IBJJF Paris International Open No Gi Championship, in the medium-heavyweight (under 88,3 kg/194 lbs) division, taking 3rd place.He won the middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) division, at blue belt, in the absolute category, and took 2nd place on the regular category at the 2018 West Zone Championship in France. He won the medium-heavyweight division, in blue belt, at the IBJJF Paris International Open Gi Championship in Spring 2018. He was also the winner of both gi and no-gi divisions in the 2019 France National Championship, at blue belt in the middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) division. He also participated in two shows for ACB JJ, notably facing Yusup Raisov, losing by points. In September 2017, he started MMA initially to improve his SAS close combat skills and tested himself in the Invictus XV 8-men amateur tournament winning the first two matches by submission and the final by decision, against an opponent with pro experience on the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division on December 16, 2017 in

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

, Spain. Passionate about MMA, he was thinking of making it his career. In July 2018, Christophe Savoca asked Luiz Tosta, a Brazilian colleague to host Saint Denis for a week at his MMA gym in London, Shootfighters, where Michael Page is training. The Brazilian confirmed that Saint Denis was capable of launching into professional MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

In September 2018, Saint Denis stood out among thirty fighters during a test organized by Daniel Woirin, a French coach renowned for having won three belts at UFC and two at Strikeforce with MMA champions Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida. Saint Denis, ending his contract with the army, decided to embark on a career as a professional MMA fighter early 2019. He gave himself two years to break through to the highest level in MMA. Two years was the time he had with his savings to train full time and get signed by the UFC. He joined the Bulgarian Top Team of French manager Giom Peltier and won six fights in eleven months. Then the pace of the fights slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Daniel Woirin, he stayed undefeated and went eight wins by finish in

, welterweight and

super lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

divisions, half of them at the

Brave Combat Federation BRAVE Combat Federation is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in the Middle East. The organization was established on 23 September 2016 by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. BRAVE Combat Federation features mixed martial artists from ...

, where he ended up as the #1 Title contenter of the

division at the time he accepted to join the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2021–present)

2021 Saint Denis made his UFC debut in the welterweight division on short notice against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on October 30, 2021 at UFC 267. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. 2022 Cutting to lightweight, Saint Denis faced Niklas Stolze on June 4, 2022 at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik. He won the bout after submitting Stolze via rear-naked choke in the second round. He was scheduled to face Christos Giagos on September 3, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 209, in Paris. However, Giagos pulled out in August after a domestic accident. Consequently, Saint Denis faced Gabriel Miranda. He won the fight via technical knockout in the early second round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. 2023 Saint Denis was scheduled to face Joe Solecki on February 18, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 219. However, he withdrew from the bout due to

ankle injury A sprained ankle, also known as a twisted ankle or rolled ankle, is an injury where sprain occurs on one or more ligaments of the ankle. It is the most common injury to occur in ball sports, such as basketball, volleyball, football, and racque ...

. Saint Denis was scheduled to face Vinc Pichel on July 1, 2023, at

UFC on ESPN 48 ''UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 48'' and ''UFC Vegas 76'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 1, 2023, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterpr ...

. However, Pichel pulled out in late-May due to injury and was replaced by Ismael Bonfim. Saint Denis won the fight via a first round rear-naked choke submission. For the beginning of his second contract with the UFC, Saint Denis faced

Thiago Moisés Thiago Henrique Moisés (born 23 March 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has been a professional MMA competitor since 2012. Previously, he compet ...

on September 2, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 226 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivak'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 226'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 84'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 2, 2023, at the Accor Arena in Paris, F ...

, in Paris. He won the fight by TKO at the second round. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Saint Denis faced Matt Frevola on November 11, 2023 at UFC 295. He won the fight via knockout in the first round and the victory earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Frevola signed off with a salute to Saint Denis who responded in kind during this veterans day. 2024 For the beginning of his third contract with the UFC, Saint Denis faced Dustin Poirier in a 5 round co-main for

UFC 299 ''UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 9, 2024, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion's t ...

on March 9, 2024. According to Dustin Poirier, the fight was initially pencilled at the start of the main card of

UFC 300 ''UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 13, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Background Main card: three title fights an ...

scheduled on April 13, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

. After discussions, the fight was officially announced for

. Saint Denis lost the fight by knockout in the second round; however it earned him another '' Fight of the Night award''. Saint Denis is scheduled to face Renato Moicano on September 28, 2024 as the headline of UFC Fight Night 243.

Professional grappling career

Saint Denis faced

Marc Diakiese Marc Diakiese (born 16 March 1993) is a Congolese-born English professional mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has also competed for Caged Steel and BAMMA. Background Aged 17, Dia ...

in the no gi main event of ADXC 4 on May 18, 2024. He won the match by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts style

Saint Denis fights in a Southpaw stance. His mixed martial arts combat style is built around wrestling and submissions, and though he’s willing to stand and trade, he typically uses his striking to force opponents to the fence so he can look for takedowns and submissions. Saint Denis is a finisher. He exerts constant pressure on his opponent until he manages to finish him, ignoring counter strikes. This materializes in all thirteen wins by finish including four knockouts and nine submissions. Half of them occurred within the first round. Saint Denis chose ''God of War'' nickname, on the advice of his brothers, after his third professional victory. This reflects his military background and MMA warrior attitude. Saint Denis' walkout track is based on the French ''Commandos''’ song and ''Seine Saint-Denis Style'' from the french hip hop group Suprême NTM. File:Benoît Saint Denis middle kick training with head coach Daniel Woirin.jpg, MMA and striking under Daniel Woirin File:Christophe Savoca explaining grappling to Benoît Saint Denis.jpg, Grappling and BJJ under Christophe Savoca File:Benoît Saint Denis lutte contre la cage.jpg, Wrestling File:Benoit Saint Denis à l'entraînement.jpg, Sparring

Personal life

Besides his MMA career, Saint Denis sometimes works as an instructor and a trainer for a French private security company named Chiron. He married his fiancée Laura, a week before his fight at UFC Fight Night 209. The couple had a daughter in July 2023. Laura is a former French international futsal player who won the European Champions league with Toulouse Metropole FC. She is working as a dog trainer and shooting instructor in the police and she was the first French female police officer undergoing Special weapons and Tactics (SWAT) course. Undergoing a Master degree in Sports Management, she is also Saint Denis' agent, handling his sponsors and social networks. Saint Denis has four tattoos: the dagger from the French Special Forces, the

samurai helmet ' (兜, 冑) is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors which, in later periods, became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. Note that in the J ...

from his first BJJ club, Joan of Arc for chivalrous spirit, and a Templar cross as a reminder of the security missions he carried out in Mali. In 2024, at the request of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

, he sponsored the French military MMA team, supported wounded soldiers' charities and participated in the Army's recruitment effort.

Media

Video games

Books

* Saint Denis wrote the introduction for the French edition of Tim Kennedy's "Scars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself" * In 2024, Saint Denis released an autobiographic comic strip "Benoit Saint Denis, God of War "

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

* World MMA Awards **2024 Nominee, Breakthrough Fighter of the Year (nomination period spanned from July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024) **2024 Nominee, Fight of the Year * Ultimate Fighting Championship ** Performance of the Night (Two times) ***Performance of the Month (One time) ** Fight of the Night (Two times) ***Fight of the Month (One time) **5-round fights: two **Highest striking differential in UFC Lightweight division history (3.34) **Third highest control time percentage in UFC Lightweight division history (63.6%) **Fourth highest top position control percentage in UFC Lightweight division history (50.5%) **Third highest knockdown average-per-15 minutes in UFC Lightweight division history (1.7) **Third highest significant strike accuracy in UFC Lightweight division history (58.4%) **First French Fighter to compete and to win on a UFC card in France ***First French Fighter to be ranked in the lightweight division **Seventh Best Fighter of 2023 *

**2020 Brave CF Submission of the Year **Number 1 Contender, Super Lightweight division *Staredown Fighting Championship **2019 SFC Welterweight Championship (one time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 (1) , Dustin Poirier , KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:32 , Miami, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 (1) , Matt Frevola , KO (head kick) , UFC 295 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 , New York City, New York, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:44 , Paris, France , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 (1) , Ismael Bonfim , Submission (face crank) , UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:48 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, , Gabriel Miranda , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:16 , Paris, France , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 (1) , Niklas Stolze , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 (1) , Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 267 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 (1) , Arkaitz Ramos Gudari , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Brave CF 52 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 , Milan, Italy , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 (1) , Luan Santiago , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Brave CF 49 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:51 , Arad, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 (1) , Mario Saeed , TKO (punches) , Brave CF 38 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 (1) , Ivica Trušček , Submission (kneebar) , Brave CF 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:39 , Ljubljana, Slovenia , , - , NC , align=center, 4–0 (1) , Paweł Kiełek , NC (accidental clash of heads) , Brave CF 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Bucharest, Romania , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Ibragim Baisarov , Submission (armbar) , European Beatdown 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:47 ,

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Antoine Bensimon , Submission (guillotine choke) , Vic Fight: French Championship 2019 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 , Longjumeau, France , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Artur Szczepaniak , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Staredown Fighting Championship 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Marc Domont , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , Lions Fighting Championship 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

, Switzerland , , -

Submission grappling record

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" , - ! Result ! Rec ! Opponent ! Method ! Event ! Date ! Weight , - , Win , , 3–3 , ,

, , Points , , ADXC 4 , , 18 May 2024 , , 175 lbs , - , Loss , , 2–3 , , Abdusamad Abdusamadov , , Points , , ACB JJ WORLD OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP GI 2019 , , July 13, 2019 , , 187 lbs , - , Loss , , 2–2 , , Yusup Raisov , , Points , , ACB JJ European OPEN Championship NO - GI & ACB JJ POLISH Open Championship GI , , 4 August 2018 , , 187 lbs , - , Win , , 2–1 , , Ziemowit Żelazny , , Submission , , ACB JJ European OPEN Championship NO - GI & ACB JJ POLISH Open Championship GI , , 4 August 2018 , , 187 lbs , - , Loss , , 1–1 , , Moritz Köllensperger , , Submission , , ACB JJ European OPEN Championship NO - GI & ACB JJ POLISH Open Championship GI , , 4 August 2018 , , 187 lbs , - , Win , , 1–0 , , Karol Kurembski , , Points , , ACB JJ European OPEN Championship NO - GI & ACB JJ POLISH Open Championship GI , , 4 August 2018 , , 187 lbs , -

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Denis, Benoit Living people 1995 births French male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters French male judoka French practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Nîmes French Army personnel Special forces of France