Dustin Poirier will lock horns with Benoit St. Denis in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 299.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the lightweight pairing late Sunday evening. UFC 299 takes place on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami and will see Sean O'Malley defend his bantamweight crown against Marlon Vera in the evening’s main event.
A two-time lightweight title challenger, Poirier has lost two of his last three Octagon appearances. In his lone bout of 2023, “The Diamond” suffered a second-round knockout loss in a rematch against Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 on July 29. The 34-year-old Poirier has bested the likes of Michael Chandler, Conor McGregor (twice), Dan Hooker, Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez, Gaethje, Anthony Pettis and Jim Miller during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
After suffering a lopsided loss against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in a short-notice promotional debut at 170 pounds, St. Denis has reeled off five consecutive triumphs under the UFC banner, finishing all of his opponents inside the distance. Most recently, the 28-year-old Frenchman scored a first-round knockout of Matt Frevola at UFC 295 on Nov. 11. “God of War” has also stopped Thiago Moises, Ismael Bonfim, Gabriel Miranda and Niklas Stolze during his current winning streak.
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