If it seems like Benoit St.
Denis faded in the second round of his fight at UFC
299, there may have been a good reason for that.
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After a dominant opening stanza, St. Denis suffered a knockout loss
against Dustin
Poirier at the 2:32 mark of Round 2 in Saturday’s co-main event
at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Afterward, the “God of War” took to
Instagram to reveal that antibiotics may have hindered his
performance as the fight progressed.
“Unfortunately this evening I was not able to fully express
myself,” St. Denis wrote (via Google Translate). “My body didn’t
respond 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.”
Heading into the bout, St. Denis appeared to have a sore on his
head, which led to speculation that the Frenchman may have been
dealing with a staph infection. While St. Denis did not give
specifics on the nature of his ailment, his post seems to confirm
that he was in something of a diminished state.
“Sorry to disappoint you. I will come back stronger. Thanks to
Dustin for accepting this fight,” St. Denis wrote. “It was
impossible for me not to seize the opportunity of such a
fight.”
Prior to facing Poirier, St. Denis had been victorious in five
straight UFC appearances — all inside the distance. Poirier
expressed confidence that his opponent would be able to rebound
from the defeat at the UFC 299 post-fight press conference.
“He has the ability. He’s proven it with all of his wins,” Poirier
said. “This is his first time getting finished. His first loss was
to a welterweight, not on a full training camp on short notice.
He’s still young. Obviously he has the mental fortitude to do it.
He’s a military veteran, so he’s been through some things. If he
decides to do it, I think he can. If he keeps evolving, getting
better, he’ll be right back where he was.”