Dustin Poirier says UFC 299 fight against Benoit Saint-Denis is back on after a “misunderstanding”
Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint-Denis will be fighting at UFC 299 after all.
Back in January, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Poirier will face Saint-Denis in the co-main event of UFC 299, which will also be a five-round fight. It’s a highly-anticipated scrap and a massive fight for the lightweight division, but on Thursday morning, ‘The Diamond’ took to social media to claim the fight was off.
My fights off but still working 👊 pic.twitter.com/DRG61CJySA
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 1, 2024
“My fights off but still working,” Poirier wrote.
Poirier then texted ESPN’s Brett Okamoto saying the fight was never agreed to.
“There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced and we couldn’t come to terms,” Poirier told ESPN.
Following Poirier claiming the fight was off, UFC CEO Dana White took aim at the media for saying the fight isn’t happening and was never agreed to. Then, shortly after that, ‘The Diamond’ took to his social media again and revealed the scrap is back on for UFC 299.
Sorry folks, I jumped the gun, I couldn't get a hold of my manager for a few days. I just spoke with him and Hunter. Misunderstanding on my part. Fight is on! See you March 9th Miami!!! pic.twitter.com/oPriv0dMQq
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 1, 2024
“Sorry folks, I jumped the gun, I couldn’t get a hold of my manager for a few days. I just spoke with him and Hunter. Misunderstanding on my part. Fight is on! See you March 9th Miami!!!,” Poirier wrote.
What exactly happened in those hours that Poirier thought the fight was off is uncertain. But, the good news is, that the fight is back on and will be happening on March 9 in Miami, Florida.
Dustin Poirier (29-8 and one No Contest) is coming off a KO loss to Justin Gaethje for the BMF belt at UFC 291 in July. Before that, he scored a third-round submission win over Michael Chandler to return to the win column after a submission loss to Charles Oliveira for the lightweight belt.
Benoit Saint-Denis (13-1 and one No Contest) extended his win streak to five back in November as he scored a first-round KO over Matt Frevola. Also on the win streak, he has beaten Thiago Moises, Ismael Bonfim, Gabriel Miranda, and Niklas Stolze.
With Poirier vs. Saint-Denis back on, UFC 299 is as follows:
- Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
- Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
- Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena
- Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong
- Kevin Holland vs. Michael Page
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
- Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Maycee Barber
- CJ Vergara vs. Asu Almbaev
- Michael Pereira vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian
- Joanne Wood vs. Maryana Moroz
