Benoît Saint-Denis is a man of challenges.
He does not like to think before launching.
So, when the opportunity to start a high-level athletic career presented itself, the young man was quick to transform the try.
At the end of 2018, he took part in a test organized by Daniel Woirin, MMA reference, ex-coach of big names in the discipline such as Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson.
“We had to take six fighters.
I ran it with guys who had about twenty fights, summarizes Daniel Woirin, head trainer of Venum Training Camp in Rungis.
He had none to his credit.
I thought he was going to suffer, but he was on a par with the others.
So we had to add a seventh name to the final selection, it was Benoît.
"
Since then, the native of Nîmes, now 25 years old, has followed a series of training sessions, matches and victories.
From February 2019 to August 2020, the date of his last fight, he played seven games.
The balance sheet?
Six victories, including 4 submissions in the 1st round (and a draw by no-contest, after a head injury).
“He's not one of the guys who quibbles over a fight.
He learns very quickly by meeting only opponents more experienced than himself.
He would like to be in the cage every month.
He wants to take the best immediately, I am the one who has to put the brakes on him, ”says Daniel Woirin, who was also coach of the French Muay-Thai team.
"At the front ... as in the cage, you have to manage your stress"
Son and grandson of a soldier, the 1m80 fellow was deployed for five months in Timbuktu, Mali, then in Niger to participate in the fight against terrorist groups such as Boko Haram.
“We could also be confronted with hostage release operations.
At the front, we have to face crisis situations.
Just like in the cage, you have to manage your stress, ”observes the one who often moved during his childhood, according to the changes of the father.
Black belt in judo at 16, the welterweight, very comfortable in ground combat, the eldest of five siblings, has always been in a logic of "competitiveness".
“He was from an elitist army corps, so it was a shock at first to see him go.
It was an extreme choice, but we knew that we were not going to be able to dissuade him from it, enlightens Hélie, his little brother of 23 years.
He is a workhorse, we know he gives himself the means to achieve his ambitions.
"
As in every fight, the whole family will be present to support Benoît, behind the screen and "with confidence", despite his mother's concerns.
A victory this Thursday, in Bahrain, against Luan Santiago Carvalho in the Super Lightweight category of the Brave organization will make him the official challenger to contest for the belt.
And maybe more.
In contact with the UFC, the prestigious North American league, Benoît Saint-Denis has already carried out medical tests to enter as a replacement.
Determined to apply the credo of his former regiment: "Who dares wins".