Dustin Poirier reacts after Benoit Saint-Denis blames staph infection for his UFC 299 performance: “You don’t say that when you lose”

Dustin Poirier is reacting after Benoit Saint-Denis blames staph infection for his UFC 299 performance.

UFC 299 took place on Saturday, March 9th and the co-main event featured Dustin Poirier (30-8 MMA) going up against Benoit Saint-Denis (13-2 MMA) in a lightweight bout. The result was a KO victory for ‘The Diamond’.

It was to be his 30th professional MMA career victory.

Following the loss, ‘God of War’ revealed he was suffering from a staph infection going into the fight with Dustin Poirier.

Saint Denis, speaking on ‘The MMA Hour’ shared:

“I was tired the whole week with the staph infection. Maybe this is also my fault. I came in a bit too heavy. With the treatment I took, the weight was not going down as (easily) and I had two more kilograms to cut before the weight cut, and it was too difficult. I paid the day after. I had no reflexes. I was out of form.”

Speaking with Mackenzie Salmon of ‘USA Today Sports‘, Dustin Poirier responded to the Frenchman’s claims saying:

“You say those type of things like ‘I had an infection, I was battling something,’ you say that when you win, you don’t say that when you lose.”

Continuing the 35-year-old said:

“I’ve gone into so many fights with staph infection, with fractured foot, with lacerated bicep, staph infection in my ear – all kinds of stuff. That’s fighting. We’re on the mats every day. Everybody has something going on going into fights, but you can’t say that when you lose. You’ve got to hush it up.”

Poirier’s next opponent is yet to be determined but he’s looking toward being the next title challenger against the reigning undisputed UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA).

What do you think of Dustin Poirier’s comments concerning Benoit Saint-Denis claims that he was hindered by a staph infection coming into UFC 299?

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