Paddy Pimblett had been teasing his next move in the UFC. And now, it’s official. The 31-year-old suffered his first career loss earlier this year when he faced Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 in January for the interim lightweight title. Now, Paddy Pimblett is looking to bounce back and prove he still belongs among the division’s elite.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
So, who is he fighting? Certainly not the actual ‘God of War.’ But former French Army Special Forces soldier Benoît Saint Denis comes pretty close to the real deal. The Frenchman had announced on social media recently that he had signed a new fight contract, but didn’t disclose the name. And now, he doesn’t need to, as reports have done that for him.
According to reports, a fight between Paddy Pimblett and Benoît Saint Denis has been booked for International Fight Week at UFC 329. It was initially reported by Alvaro Colmenero, and since then, several other sources have confirmed the bout.
🚨Paddy Pimblett VS Benoit Saint Denis is reportedly set to go down on July 11th for International Fight Week (Per @KOlmeneroMMA )
Saint Denis, of course, is coming off a second-round knockout win over Dan Hooker on the undercard of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 in February at UFC 325. With the win, the Frenchman is now on a four-fight win streak since dropping two back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano in 2024.
Paddy Pimblett and Saint Denis are currently ranked No. 6 and No. 5, respectively. And a win for either fighter will mean they will climb the lightweight rankings further to secure a title shot down the line. In any case, other fights on the card include: Cory Sandhagen vs. Mario Bautista 2, César Almeida vs. Damian Pinas, Leon Edwards vs. Daniel Rodriguez, and Gable Steveson is set to make his debut against an opponent TBD.
But this begs the question, who is headlining the event?
Conor McGregor could face Max Holloway at UFC 329
Former two-division champion Conor McGregor hasn’t fought since his trilogy loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Although he was set to make his comeback against Michael Chandler, a toe injury caused the fight’s cancellation. Since then, he expressed his interest in fighting on the White House card, scheduled for June 14 at the White House lawn.
But that desire was denied when the entire card was revealed, but his name wasn’t part of the card. Since then, there have been speculations and rumors that ‘The Mac’ could fight during International Fight Week against Max Holloway in a much-anticipated rematch. With the UFC 329 card filling up, the promotion has yet to confirm whether that’s the case.
But if that really is the case, then with Conor McGregor having returned to training and re-entered drug testing, the fight is no longer out of the realm of possibility.
UFC 329 is shaping up to be an exciting event, with several great fights. However, could the card deliver what the fans have been asking for—for years?
