UFC Paris star spoiled fighter’s return after 6 years away with seven deadly elbows before finish

Benoit Saint-Denis mauled Canadian ‘Killshot’ in UFC return

Coming off losses to former interim champion Dustin Poirier and Moicano, Saint-Denis was supposed to fight hot prospect Joel Alvarez at UFC 315 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. However, Alvarez withdrew, and Canadian Kyle Prepolec stepped up on five days’ notice.

‘Killshot’ was cut by the UFC after going 0-2 in 2019. The UFC brought Prepolec back six years later following a three-fight finish streak.

While Saint-Denis has been able to cut down opponents on the feet in the past, it was his grappling that really prevailed against Prepolec, a threat on the feet with 10 KOs.

Saint-Denis scored three takedowns on Prepolec and nearly finished him with a rear-naked choke in the closing seconds of round 1. In the second round, Saint-Denis unloaded a series of seven brutal elbows, with knees in between, on Prepolec, weathering him down before he got him to the canvas.

From there, Saint-Denis attempted an arm-triangle choke and forced the tap out of Prepolec.

It wasn’t the homecoming Prepolec had imagined, but the short-notice opportunity got him in the UFC again and an upcoming fight vs. fan favorite Drew Dober.

Benoit Saint-Denis can steal Mauricio Ruffy’s hype at UFC Paris

Before he lost to Poirier and Moicano, Saint-Denis was one of the hottest prospects in the premier promotion and for good reason.

After coming up short in his UFC debut up a weight class, Saint-Denis finished his next five opponents, one via head kick KO.

At one point in his career, there were headlines of the Frenchman fighting then-champion Islam Makhachev.

Saint-Denis has the chance to regain his momentum or at least, build towards it with a win over Mauricio Ruffy. Ruffy is undefeated in the UFC. His last fight ended in King Green on the floor after a spinning heel kick to the head, which some fans are calling the best knockout of the year.