A Bangkok ready guide to Benoit Saint Denis and swift skill development
Benoit Saint Denis is one of the most interesting cases in combat sports, having a meteoric rise in the sport, getting into the ufc after less than four years of training mma. A large factor to BSD’’s success in the sport can be attributed to “having that dawg in him”. His sheer determination and athleticism make up for a lot of what he lacks in technically, attributes that he developed most likely as a French special forces operator. While it is easy to call him an athleticism merchant, it is important to analyse what skills he has been able to develop in his short time in the sport, and how it has carried him to where he is today. While Benoit’s tendency to block punches with his face draws a lot of criticism, his offensive technique is something that deserves to be studied.
Benoit benefits greatly from the open stance matchup. Roughly ninety percent of the population are right handed, and considering that the vast majority of people follow the general striking rule that you keep your non-dominant hand forwards, this means that the majority of fights are between orthodox opponents. As orthodox opponents fight their lead legs neatly slot together. However when an orthodox opponent meets a southpaw opponent, this creates an awkward foot positioning where each competitor’s foot blocks the advancement of the other, creating a fixed range from where small micro battles for foot positioning take place, often with the goal of getting the outside foot position in order to line up shots better. Benoit Saint Denis does not tend to care about these micro battles, sometimes walking into inside foot position accidentally without the threat of any offensive action. Saint Denis’ striking game mostly revolves around using what is known as the southpaw triple attack, mixing up kicks and punches to the opponent’s “open side” where they are not protected by the bones and muscles of the shoulders and back, instead kicking across the more exposed body.
Benoit Saint Denis uses the range of the open stance matchup to pick at his opponent from range, closing distance when he prepares to use his grappling. Saint Denis will stand in kickboxing range and throw body or head kicks to the open side as hard as he can. A kick carries enough kinetic energy that when thrown from the back leg you have to commit to defending it a lot to minimise damage, as many kicks will still do damage through blocks, especially when hitting the exposed body of the open side. If his opponent leans into the block to reduce the impact, there is a good chance that they may lean into a full power head kick, usually a fight ending blow. Likewise, the head kick must also be committed in any defensive action. Simply putting your hand up will not suffice, as the force of the kick will very likely transfer through the glove into the opponent’s head with enough force to knock an opponent out. The double hand commitment to the head leaves the body open to a full power body kick, the shin likely connecting completely across an opponent’s exposed body and likely into the liver. Saint Denis can also use the left hand to punish blocking kicks, as committing your hands to one side of your body leaves you open to straight punches. If the opponent decides to slip to the inside of the straight then they are extremely vulnerable to the high kick, as Kamaru Usman found out against Leon Edwards in their second fight. These three strikes allow Benoit Saint Denis to create dilemmas in his opponent’s defence. When met with the pressure of this dilemma an opponent will likely back themself onto the fence, as they can draw out the strike by creating distance, therefore giving them more time to react. However, backing up against Denis plays into his game.
One criticism that Saint Denis regularly gets is that he strikes recklessly. This is not necessarily false, throwing most of his strikes at one hundred percent power and neglecting to cover up or move his head as shots are coming back at him. However, the reckless striking applies a lot of pressure to the opponent, as the consequences of getting hit will likely cause the opponent to back up to the fence. Once the opponent is on the fence Saint Denis is able to use the fence as a crutch to his defence. If he throws himself out of position with his shots or gets rocked all he has to do is level change and change the situation from a striking exchange to a grappling exchange. Another tactic that Saint Denis will use to protect himself is to tie up the hands of his opponent, looking to grab the wrists and fold elbows over the top, preventing any counter striking attempts.
Against the fence Benoit Saint Denis has a very simple takedown system. Ultimately, no matter how good of a striker you are, if someone starts swinging at you as hard as they can, most defensive responses involve giving up your hips and enabling a takedown. Volume wrestlers like Merab Dvalishvili and Colby Covington will build their game around putting enough volume on their opponents that they are forced to cover up, giving up their hips for a takedown. Saint Denis will do this against the fence, using his strength to power through onto a double leg, often crashing into his opponent after he wings a left hand or a body kick, the momentum of the striking helping him get the takedown. A lot of the time his opponent will manage to get an underhook or two, stuffing the takedown. While Dvalishvili or Covington would just try again, Saint Denis will temporarily give up the takedown and convert the underhooked arm into a Thai clinch, hammering knees and elbows while the opponent’s back is trapped against the fence. This allows Saint Denis to continuously apply pressure and cause damage to his opponent, meaning that even if his opponent does not get the takedown he is still able to win the exchange, maintaining the momentum of the fight.
While Saint Denis has no impressive wrestling background, nor has he spent years training under some world champion Brazilian black belt, yet has built himself up as one of the best, and interesting to watch, grapplers at lightweight. While most wrestlers in mma are content to sit in full or half guard, with some not considering ground and pound as a priority, Benoit Saint Denis is a very aggressive guard passer. Many mma fighters will suggest that guard passing is not even a necessary skill to learn, as you can supposedly do sufficient damage in closed guard, but being able to remove an opponent’s legs as a defensive (or even offensive) option off their back is very useful. Saint Denis is proficient with the toreando pass, using it as a way not just to pass but also as a way to remove the option for the bottom fighter to use their legs to frame, creating a platform for ground and pound from standing. The usual issue of the opponent turtling is less of an issue, as Saint Denis has a solid back take game, usually able to slip in a hook from turtle or mount. Saint Denis’ ability to find the rear naked choke holds his grappling game together, as the threat of submission creates an urgency for his opponents and makes the proposition of a guard pass far more threatening. Saint Denis’ willingness to go for neck and chin cranks increases his finishing potential, as it increases the surface area that the opponent has to protect when he is on the back.
Benoit Saint Denis will use his jiu jitsu just as effectively off his back as on top. Denis has a very good butterfly guard game, but it is made far more effective due to how he threatens the stand up. Saint Denis will immediately look for the underhook the second he gets put on his back, whether in closed guard or butterfly. He will then try to get his feet on his opponents hips to make space or use butterfly elevators to lift the fighter on top up and push them forward, taking their weight off of him. Once he creates this space he will then try and bulldoze forward with the underhook, driving forward to his feet. If his opponent decides to try and stop the getup he will have to commit a lot of weight and momentum, giving Saint Denis the perfect opportunity to go for a butterfly sweep using his underhook, with the opponent now relinquishing bottom position instead of the stand up.
Benoit Saint Denis has managed to go very far with a few tools that he became talented with, his early success in the sports of kickboxing and jiu jitsu being developed and expanded upon to become truly world class. While his game could be described as rough around the edges, that is to be expected with someone who developed so quickly, the aspects that he is talented with carrying him through his career. While the ceiling of Saint Denis’ career is yet to be seen, he is undoubtedly one of the most interesting prospects in the ufc right now with how he has been able to develop his game so quickly.
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