Benoit St. Denis Targets Lightweight Elite Following Fifth Straight Finish at UFC 295

Benoit St. Denis is eyeing a who’s who of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division after a spectacular knockout win over Matt Frevola.

Saint-Denis (13-1) took on Frevola (11-4) on the UFC 295 main card at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday. “God of War” floored the New York native 1:31 in the opening frame into with a shin-to-chin left head kick before following up with some ground-and-pound that was hardly necessary before referee Mike Beltran stepped in.

St. Denis claims he was on the lookout for striking opportunities while on the break from scrambles.

“I knew he was not going to exchange too much in the scrambles with me,” the Frenchman said in his post-fight Octagon interview. “… I knew that he doesn’t win the scrambles, there’s going to be opportunities after the scramble.”

St. Denis also put elite lightweight contenders on notice, which included cageside guests Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. While UFC gold remains his eventual goal, the Frenchman is already eyeing Gaethje’s BMF title or a main event booking in front of his home fans in Paris opposite Polish standout Mateusz Gamrot.

“I’m going to get that BMF belt. Then I’m going to get Islam Makhachev. I’m coming for everybody in the lightweight division,” he said. “It’s not going to be long before I have the belt around my waist. I would like to go for Dustin Poirier, [Mateusz] Gamrot, Justin Gaethje, as fast as possible. Gamrot is European, let’s make a main event in Paris.”

After suffering his lone pro loss in his UFC debut against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in 2021, Saint-Denis has now racked up five straight finishes, all coming within the first two rounds.