Was it because he had waited a long time that he finished everything in a few seconds? Benoît Saint-Denis had his moment of glory this Saturday night at the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York, during UFC 322, an MMA competition. Within 15 seconds and a left hook to Beneil Dariush’s temple, he snuffed out his opponent and left the New York crowd gasping. How did he do it?
He had announced his colors a little earlier in the day: “The opponent does not make weight”, he maliciously published it on his social networks in the hours before the fight, referring to the limit exceeded by Dariush, of 600 grams. Saint-Denis has surrendered, this time figuratively, because he wants to fight. “This is war,” the man nicknamed “The God of War” also wrote on his network. (God of War).
Benoit Saint-Denis nevertheless managed to set a fiery atmosphere in this room that was unlike any other. Shortly before his fight that opened the main card, there was a fierce fight in the front row, among the fighters who came as spectators, including American Dillon Danis, Islam Makhachev and some of their relatives.
The Saint-Denis fight was postponed for about ten minutes and the Frenchman, after entering the arena with the usual remix, mixing the command song and the title Seine-Saint-Denis Style by Suprême NTM, still had to wait a bit: his opponent entered second and it took another minute or two for both fighters to finally find themselves together in the cage.
The crowd barely had time to sit back: Benoit Saint-Denis first fell quickly, after the first punch from Dariush, then he got up and fired a straight shot to the left that left the American with no chance.
In the crowd, French basketball player from the New York Knicks Guerschon Yabusele, who was sitting, or rather standing, in the 5th row, did not miss a single shot. Saint-Denis went on to garner applause from the adoring American public. Perched on the enclosure fence, he spread his arms, enjoying his coronation, two years after a prestigious success, in a legendary hall in the heart of Manhattan.
He then immediately checked the health condition of his opponent who was awake. He was then able to give his first impression in the cage. “First of all, let’s not forget that we are fighting a war a few days after Veterans Day, and we must thank all the soldiers for their service,” said Saint-Denis, drawing a standing ovation from an American public that is still deeply patriotic and highly sensitive to everything related to the flag and its defense.
Saint-Denis, a Legion veteran, also sent a message to his friend, who lost his leg in combat and is at Madison Square Garden this Saturday night. Then he came down, surrounded by his family, and went back to the dressing room surrounded by his family.
In the evening, head to a French restaurant in the Big Apple with the staff and friends in attendance in New York. Take a break, before thinking about what will happen next.
