No rest for the brave. For almost five months, Benoît Saint Denis has been working on coal. Returning to the forefront on September 6 during his victory in Paris against Mauricio Ruffy, the MMA fighter has been fighting at an infernal pace ever since. Winner again on November 15 in New York, he is already back on the night of Saturday to Sunday in Sydney against Dan Hooker. A third challenge in 147 days.
This is not the first time that the Frenchman has drastically accelerated the pace like this. Between July and November 2023, during his first breakthrough in the UFC, he beat Ismael Bonfim, Thiago Moises and Matt Frevola in 133 days, before suffering the repercussions during a disappointing 2024 from which he claims to have learned lessons.
“He knows very well that at one point in his life, by pushing his physique a little too hard, he exceeded his limits,” assures Maxime Petit, his mental trainer. It had repercussions on the fight against Dustin Poirier, with staphylococcus which does not happen by chance. But he has become very mature in his thinking and his commitment. The discussions are shared by his entire team, which is very professional, and the validation of the fight must be collective. »
“I’m trying to gain time in Benoît’s career”
The opportunity to face 6th ranked lightweight Dan Hooker was too good. Impossible to refuse. “I’m trying to gain time in Benoît’s career with this type of profile,” explains Guillaume Peltier, his manager. I look at the opportunities that I can create, I find out about the UFC destinations, the fighters’ program and I talk to the UFC about it. That’s what I did for Hooker, and it worked. »
Winner in just 16 seconds on November 15, Benoît Saint Denis was quickly able to get back to work. Despite everything, there were significant sacrifices, especially in the middle of the end-of-year holidays, with a second child, Clovis, born at the beginning of August. “Accepting a fight at the end of January means accepting the sacrifices. My 30th birthday, Christmas, New Year: everything took a back seat. A choice that I also impose on my family,” the Frenchman wrote on Instagram.
Trained by Nicolas Ott in Paris, while his family lives in Bayonne, he was nevertheless able to have visits from his wife and children on several occasions. A vital need. “The family must be present without being burdensome,” believes Maxime Petit, creator of MentalTop. If Benoît brings his loved ones, it’s because he needs this balance. I didn’t see him suffer from this situation, but the fact of meeting his wife to eat, for example, gives him a foothold in reality. »
The 8th ranked lightweight in the UFC nevertheless had to do without during long days of training. A heartbreak essential to perform. “It’s clear that he had to accept this temporary renunciation of his classic balance between professional and personal life,” points out the mental trainer. But Benoît is a committed person, he is a former soldier, he is used to missions, to seeing a project through to the end despite the sacrifices. It’s something he knows and which probably impacts him less than the other fighters. »
“Six weeks of preparation is ideal”
Former member of the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (1st RPIMa), Benoît Saint Denis has indeed experienced long operations in Mali or Niger to combat terrorist organizations. So it’s not a small training camp of a few weeks that will scare him. Especially since the time was sufficient to calmly prepare for such a deadline.
“Six weeks of preparation is the ideal time for good preparation,” his coach Nicolas Ott told us before his last duel against Beneil Dariush, already hastily organized. We really have time to work on all the major areas of MMA, whether it’s boxing, wrestling or ground. Obviously he doesn’t get much rest, but that’s the price of success.”
However, a problem lies in managing one’s weight. Because in addition to the fights, Benoît Saint Denis has to endure three “cuttings”, severe dehydration to drop below the tolerated weight for lightweights (70 kg), in less than five months. Very professional, the Bayonnais has never failed in the field, and he does not intend to miss his weigh-in this time.
A few days before the fight, the fighter appeared very sharp. “He maintains a reasonable weight, which means he has a cutting similar to each fight, promises Nicolas Ott. It is neither more difficult nor less difficult. When things get going, he doesn’t go as high as he can when he doesn’t have a fight date scheduled yet. » The Frenchman is therefore ready. All that’s left to do is.
Worth a look
