The life of Benoît Saint-Denis is a true novel, he who went from the French army and military operations in Mali to the status of a rising star in the UFC.

The Habs have also returned philosophically to this transition recently.

Sometimes everything moves very quickly in sport, especially in MMA where the string of a few victories can give you crazy opportunities.

Who better to illustrate this than Benoît Saint-Denis? The French phenomenon is indeed coming out of twelve completely crazy months within the UFC.

Still relatively unknown in the summer of 2023, the Nîmes is now one of the most renowned clients in the lightweight division.

It all started with a victory over Ismael Bonfim last July, followed by triumphant knockouts against Thiago Moises and Matt Frevola in the four months that followed.

Enough to open the doors to the Top 15 for him and to face Dustin Poirier, 3rd in the ranking while he himself was only 12th.

He may have lost against “The Diamond” at UFC 299, but the Habs still can’t believe it, as he confided on his Instagram story.

Benoît Saint-Denis looks back on his meteoric rise in the UFC
I just said to my wife: “It was a year ago, I feel like it was yesterday and yet it’s so long ago. » How far we have come and this is only the beginning of the adventure… Believe in your projects, think big. At 18 I wanted to join the Special Forces, few gave me the chance. 5 years of service later, I left this prestigious unit to do MMA, giving myself two years to return to the UFC.

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And 5 years after this decision, I had the opportunity to fight a legend of this sport who has been in the Top 3 of my category for years.

The key is the work and determination you put into living your dreams. Remember: “What we do in our life resonates for eternity. » Your BSD.

When it is said that MMA fighters are sometimes killers, BSD embodies this to perfection since his military past led him to operations in Mali, even serving as protection for former president François Hollande.

But the gamble of leaving the army to break into mixed martial arts was risky, which did not prevent him from achieving it.

His return at UFC Paris is therefore eagerly awaited by French Internet users.

Leaving everything within the Special Forces in order to devote himself to MMA was particularly daring.

But Benoît Saint-Denis took on the challenge with flying colors, propelling himself among the elite of his division by stringing together victories in a few months.