Benoit Saint-Denis responds to Mateusz Gamrot’s fight dodging claims for short-notice UFC 315 booking

Benoit Saint-Denis cleared the air after Mateusz Gamrot accused him of turning down a fight at UFC 315.

UFC lightweight contender Benoit Saint-Denis will look to snap the first losing skid of his fighting career this Saturday at UFC 315. After he was supposed to originally face Joel Alvarez to kick off the main card, Alvarez withdrew last weekend due to injury, forcing the UFC to book a short-notice replacement to face Saint-Denis.

Saint-Denis will face a significant downgrade in competition, on paper, at UFC 315. Two-fight UFC veteran Kyle Prepolec will step up on days’ notice to square off with Saint-Denis, a big undertaking after an 0-2 run inside the Octagon.

As the UFC matchmakers scrambled to find a replacement opponent for Saint-Denis, Mateusz Gamrot offered to step up before Saint-Denis allegedly declined the offer.

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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCBenoit Saint-Denis accuses Mateusz Gamrot of lying about a short-notice offer at UFC 315Gamrot went off on Saint-Denis in a recent social media rant, labeling Saint-Denis a ‘coward’ for turning down a recent fight offer. Gamrot was briefly linked to a potential rematch with Arman Tsarukyan on an upcoming card before Tsarukyan turned it down as he waits for a Top 5 opponent.

Fight fans scolded Saint-Denis after Gamrot’s allegations surfaced, questioning why he’d prefer to face a lower-caliber opponent on short notice over a Top 15 matchup with Gamrot. But according to the French star, Gamrot’s tweet was misleading.

During his UFC 315 media day press conference, Saint-Denis explained why Gamrot didn’t get the short-notice nod this weekend in Montreal.

“I think everybody knows me now, if he could’ve done it in Montreal, it would’ve happened,” “But what I wanted to do was fight in Montreal. Waiting three weeks, or one month to have another opponent was an option I could’ve had, but I didn’t even discuss [Gamrot] with my manager because I told him I’m ready, I’m fighting, and if the UFC wants to [put me against] Gamrot in two weeks, I’ll do my job on Saturday night and I’ll be there in two weeks.

“But now I’m concentrating on my opponent, on fighting this Saturday, I came here for that…if you can’t fight on Saturday night, you’re not welcome.”

As of this writing, Gamrot hasn’t responded to Saint-Denis’s comments. Gamrot hasn’t fought since a close loss to Dan Hooker at UFC 305 last September.

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Belal Muhammad responded to Colby Covington’s bizarre prank ahead of UFC 315UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has had an interesting fight week ahead of his first title defense this weekend against Jack Della Maddalena. Just days away from UFC 315, Colby Covington pulled off a bizarre prank on Muhammad from afar at the UFC PI, resulting in Muhammad slamming Covington as a ‘moron’.

Covington opened a refrigerator at the UFC PI, saw a bag with Muhammad’s name labeled on it, and moved the food to a slightly different spot. Fight fans weren’t amused by Covington’s latest antics, as the three-time title challenger attempts to get a fight booked for later this year.

Muhammad earned the welterweight title by defeating Leon Edwards last July at UFC 304. Meanwhile, Covington has lost back-to-back fights to Edwards and Joaquin Buckley since a UFC 272 win over Jorge Masvidal.

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