'I Was Worried For His Life In That Fight' - Josh Thomson Looks Back At Benoît Saint Denis' Only Career Loss Ahead Of UFC 299

Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson recently discussed the infamous bout between Benoît Saint Denis and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. 

Back at UFC 267 in October 2021, Saint Denis took an unexpectedly brutal beating in his Octagon debut. The fight wound up going the distance, with the judges labeling dos Santos the winner via unanimous decision. 

For now, the fight marks both Saint Denis' only professional defeat, and the first and last time he competed at welterweight. 

'I Was Really Concerned For Him' - Josh Thomson On Benoît Saint Denis

During a recent edition of the WEIGHING IN podcast, Josh Thomson and "Big" John McCarthy discussed Benoît Saint Denis' upcoming UFC 299 clash with Dustin Poirier. 

The fight marks a huge step-up in competition for the No.12-ranked Saint Denis, as the No.3-ranked Poirier is a stalwart of the division with huge wins over the likes of Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, and Conor McGregor. 

When it comes to Saint Denis' sole loss, Thomson revealed he was concerned by the punishment the Frenchman took.

"I was worried for his life in that fight," Thomson said. "He took some damage."

"The Punk" later compared the dos Santos/Saint Denis fight to the ferocious beating he took from Tony Ferguson back at UFC Fight Night 71 in July 2015. Despite taking an alarming level of damage from "El Cucuy," Thomson made it to the final bell, where the judges awarded Ferguson a unanimous decision victory.

"Saint Denis fight, his first fight in the UFC where he just got destroyed, and I was really concerned for him," Thomson said. "Giving me f***ing flashbacks to Josh Thomson and Tony Ferguson... its brutal, brutal... I was watching him going 'Damn, you're a f***ng- a tough son of a gun,' just vicious."