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Saint Denis (16-3 and 1 NC) redeemed himself from a rocky start to finish Dariush off with a left hand perfectly timed to the ear at Madison Square Garden. This was his third win in a row via finish. Dariush, who had missed Friday’s weight cutoff by one pound, was forced to compete at the catchweight of 157.2 lbs. The native Frenchman immediately climbed up the Octagon and pointed to the crowd, saying that he deserved a shot at Ilia TOPURIA’s 155-pound championship after winning consecutive stoppage victories over Kyle Propelec and Mauricio Ruffy just two months earlier.
Dariush, an Iranian native 36 years old, dropped Saint Denis briefly in the opening stages with a powerful calf kick. BSD was also hit in the face with a knee as he tried to get back to his feet. Dariush’s third defeat in four fights, dating all the way back to 2023, came from Saint Denis’ left hook.Saint Denis, after the fight, said: “I will do everything the UFC asks me to do. I will return soon.”
Saint Denis entered as the No. Dariush, ranked No. Dariush showed his ability to recover after losing to Dustin Poirier by knockout in 2024, when BSD was fighting an illness. Six months later he lost to Renato Micano via TKO (after the cageside physician ruled that BSD couldn’t go on due to an eye injury).
2025-11-16 03:51:36
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