Benoit Saint Denis needed just 16 seconds to get the UFC 322 main card started in emphatic fashion after he flattened Beneil Dariush with a single punch to score the knockout win.
There was no feeling out process for either of the lightweights with Dariush darting across the cage and actually connecting with a solid punch and a kick of his own. It was short-lived success, however, as Saint Denis stepped back and started throwing uppercuts before unleashing a hellacious left hook that blasted Dariush on the side
of the head.
Dariush immediately fell face first to the canvas with the referee rushing in to stop the contest at just 16 seconds into the opening round.
“As you know what I’m chasing for,” Saint Denis said after the win. “I’m on a great road and there’s two things that I have in my mind, the ‘BMF’ and the lightweight belt and I’m going to chase that. I love that ‘BMF’ title but I will do whatever the UFC tells me to do. I’m a soldier.”
Following a couple of tough losses in his career, Saint Denis has bounced back impressively with three wins in a row including his finish over highly touted prospect Mauricio Ruffy and now with the jaw-dropping knockout over a proven contender like Dariush.
Saint Denis has plenty of options ahead of him, especially with performances like this one as he takes another step forward in a deep and dangerous lightweight division.
