“That Saint-Denis guy is a f*cking killer. He’s such a killer, that guy’s such a scary guy,” Joe Rogan would say of UFC lightweight star Benoit Saint Denis in early 2024. “I’m telling you that Benoit Saint-Denis is next level. He’s got furnaces going in his eyes. You look into that guy’s eyes, there’s hell going on behind those eyes. He’s built for it.”
And there are very good reasons why Rogan talked about the Frenchman with wide eyes and hushed tones. The lightweight star is indeed a killer, in the literal sense of the word. ‘BSD’, of course, is a rising star in the promotion, although he has had a few setbacks recently. But, ‘God of War’ is made of sterner stuff, and these setbacks are nothing he cannot overcome—or at least, that is the impression one gets from his life story.
Benoit Saint Denis’ time in the military
Being a warrior was in Benoit Saint Denis’ blood. Born to a French Army Officer, ‘BSD’ followed in the footsteps of his father and joined the French Army Special Forces at the tender age of eighteen after completing his schooling. By the time he joined the military, ‘God of War’ was already a black belt in judo (which he had started training in when he was eight) and had dabbled in rugby. His brilliance with his physical abilities not only helped him get into the army but also served him well when he saw action in Africa during his posting.
During his days in the military, he fought several overseas insurgent groups, including the notorious Boko Haram from Nigeria, and a mission to reclaim an airport in Timbuktu, Mali. Recalling his time in the military, Saint-Denis said in an interview on The MMA Hour, “It was an adventure and I loved it.”
He further said, “I wanted to be part of these kinds of small groups doing very important geopolitical missions, and being great at using any kind of weapons.” The Frenchman would go into more details about his military service in an interview with ‘The Independent’.
Benoît Saint Denis, a former French Special Forces operator (he joined the French SAS at 18) and is now a top 15 UFC fighter. What a journey, all this at just 27 years of age
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“I was in the French special air service. It comes from you guys in Great Britain in the Second World War; it got created to destroy German aircraft in North Africa, and the special forces went on from there. In the UK, it still exists as the SAS [Special Air Service]. I was part of a unit in France, and I was mostly in Africa – Mali, Burkina Faso – fighting against terrorist groups like Boko Haram. So, it was mostly counter-terrorism,” ‘BSD’ recounted. It was this experience with the military that probably prompted him to adopt the nickname ’God of War’ in what would later define his current field of interest.
BSD’s journey from army officer to a UFC fighter
In 2017, his interest in MMA got rekindled when he started practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Since he had a penchant for combat sports from his early days, he was drawn to it. After watching the famous UFC 189 clash between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, which many consider one of the greatest fights in the history of the UFC, the Special Forces operative knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
Now he had a new goal– to become a UFC champion. This is why the Frenchman quit the military in 2019 and embarked on his MMA journey. But the road wasn’t easy at all. ‘BSD’ had no amateur experience and hadn’t fought in a single MMA fight before he suddenly resolved to be a mixed martial artist. The road wasn’t easy, and the Frenchman was fighting against an invisible ticking clock.
“Of course, it was difficult. I moved to Paris to live in a 20m room, and all I did was train, eat, and sleep for two years. It was difficult to leave my friends and everything I had back in Bayonne, where I was serving. Now I’m back there, because I managed to have success in my MMA career, so I’m very happy. But yes, in the beginning it’s always difficult. But you know what? ‘Who dares wins’ is the motto of the regiment, so I followed it,” Saint Denis told ‘The Independent’.
Saint Denis’ journey in the UFC so far
Saint-Denis tried his hand at kickboxing in 2018 and then tried his hand at actual MMA training. In a testament to his warrior spirit, the former Special Forces operative entered and won his first amateur tournament just 15 days after he started training. Granted, he was already a black belt in judo, but to start training in another sport and win a tournament in the first month is a huge achievement.
Two years later, he achieved his dream of getting into UFC, but the start was rocky as he suffered a loss at the hands of Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via a unanimous decision in a welterweight clash. But he soon dropped to lightweight and his career took off. He went on a five-fight win streak, and the UFC chose to match him up against the legendary Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 in 2024.
Unfortunately, ‘BSD’ got stopped by the ever-dangerous veteran in the second round, but claimed that he had a staph infection coming into the fight. After that, the UFC had him face Renato ‘Money’ Moicano atop the UFC Paris card in 2024. Unfortunately, the former special forces operative lost that fight too, and got mauled by the Brazilian, who took him down and TKO’d him with some vicious ground-and-pound. Now ‘God of War’ is set to face Kyle Prepolec at UFC 315 on May 10, which is a crucial fight for him since he is already on a two-fight skid. What do you think about Benoit Saint Denis’ military service?
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