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Dustin Poirier is preparing to square off against Benoit Saint Denis in a five-round lightweight bout scheduled as the co-main event of UFC 299.
The pay-per-view event is set to take place on March 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Despite the buzz surrounding UFC 299 and the anticipated showdown between Poirier and Saint Denis, this matchup wasn't part of the UFC's original plan. The former interim 155-pound champion disclosed that he opted out of participating in the historic UFC 300 event scheduled for the following month on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, 'The Diamond' stated that the co-main slot at UFC 299 was more suitable for him due to its proximity to his training camp:
"They offered me this fight for 300. I was talking with Hunter [Campbell], and we were like, maybe the opening of the [UFC 300] pay-per-view, maybe the second fight of the pay-per-view [UFC 300]. And then [UFC 299] we started talking about, and to be the co-main event, [and] I’m like, that’s a much bigger slot. It’s close to my training camp, it’s close to home."
Poirier added:
"So I just wanted to be part of 300, but this just made more sense, I think. This card is stacked for sure, man."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (0:58):
Dustin Poirier reflects on confusion concerning Benoit Saint Denis bout
Last week, Dustin Poirier sparked controversy in the MMA community when he announced the cancellation of his bout against Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 due to a contractual dispute.
However, 'The Diamond' clarified mere hours later that he had "jumped the gun" and assured everyone that now everything is proceeding as planned.
During the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Poirier remained reserved when questioned about the details of the behind-the-scenes events that threatened the fight. He emphasized that, to him, the most crucial aspect was that everything ultimately fell into place. He said:
"I don’t want to dive too deep into it. There was some miscommunication; not everybody was on the same page, and I couldn’t get a hold of somebody, and things got a little bit confusing for me, and I was waiting to hear something. But it is what it is, fight’s on."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (0:10):
