Benoit Saint-Denis came within inches of beating Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 on Saturday night, catching “Diamond” on the feet and nearly subbing him on the ground. But in the end, Poirier managed to weather the storm and catch Saint-Denis with a right hook that knocked “BSD” out cold midway through the second round.
Saint-Denis came out strong in the first but wasn’t able to maintain his pressure in the second. In a statement on Instagram, he said that was on account of antibiotics he was taking to deal with an infection. Photos of Benoit with a suspicious looking mark on his forehead had been widely circulated during fight week. Now we have confirmation it was staph.
“Hello France,” he wrote in French. “Unfortunately tonight I couldn’t fully express myself. My body didn’t keep up after a week of antibiotics to fight an infection. Throughout I was present but my body was absent, it did not react as usual. I only had one round to give you.”
“Sorry to those I have disappointed, I will come back stronger,” he continued. “Thanks to Dustin for accepting this fight. It was impossible for me not to seize the opportunity of such a fight.”
The loss to Poirier puts Benoit Saint-Denis at 13-2 (5-2 UFC). “God of War” may have been knocked back in his attempt to break into the lightweight top five, but it was a roller-coaster ride that few fans will forget. It also earned him a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
If this is what he can do after being sapped by antibiotics, the French prospect has a bright future ahead of him.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
