About a year ago, lightweight contender Benoit Saint-Denis decided to part ways with his former coach, Daniel Woirin, with whom he was associated for about six years. Things did not go his way in 2024, as he lost both of his fights last year. So maybe Saint-Denis needed to find someone who could bring the best out of him, or so we thought. It appears that there was some kind of financial disagreement between Saint-Denis and Woirin.

After ‘God of War’ decided to part ways with his former coach, he appointed Nicolas Ott as his head coach, and things have turned out pretty well so far. Under the new coach, Benoit Saint-Denis ended his 2-fight losing streak and returned to the winning column. While things are looking good for the Frenchman, his former coach has caused a stir on social media about the reason behind their split, which happened over a phone call, and unfortunately, money played a huge role in it, as Woirin insinuated that Saint-Denis got a little greedy.

“Our split was purely about money, not skills. When you get dumped via a text message, well… a phone call, it hurts,” Benoit Saint-Denis’s ex-coach told Biomecanique in a recent interview. But he didn’t stop there. For those who’re unaware, Daniel Woirin is a pretty big deal in the MMA scene. He’s trained some of the most legendary fighters in UFC history. Maurício Rua, Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida, and Antonio Nogueira are just some of the legendary names on his list.

But he doesn’t feel the same about Benoit Saint-Denis, deeming the lightweight contender average at best and dismissing his chances of winning a UFC title. “Benoît is really below all those guys [de Silva, Machida, or Henderson]. He’s very well-known, but he doesn’t hold a candle to them. Maybe he’ll get there, we hope so for him,” Daniel Woirin added. However, a fellow French fighter appears to have a different story behind the whole split.

Amin Ayoub, a French fighter who competed in Brave CF just like Benoit Saint-Denis, has often shown his respect for the UFC fighter in the past, and this time he revealed a bombshell. He claims that Daniel Woirin threatened to leave his fighters high and dry and would snub his duties as a cornerman if they did not get the payment right. Ayoub additionally urged Saint-Denis’s ex-coach to come clean about the whole debacle.

“Toxic behavior from Ex.. but he doesn’t want to explain that just 1 week before his fight, he threatens his fighter to renegotiate a sum or not show up in his corner,” Ayoub tweeted. “No, life is harsh, tell the truth sometimes, don’t you think?”

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Well, we may never know who’s speaking the truth, but it’s surprising to see how Daniel Woirin’s opinion of Benoit Saint-Denis changed. Just last year, he was singing the Frenchman’s praises, calling ‘God of War’ an “incredible” athlete. Let’s take a look at what he had to say.

Benoit Saint-Denis’s ex-coach had pleasant words for him last year.

The loss at UFC 299 may have been the start of the decline of Benoit Saint-Denis and Daniel Woirin’s relationship. That’s because his coach has never said anything good about him after that fight. But before the fight against Dustin Poirier, his former coach seemed proud of how he shaped Saint-Denis from the beginning of his MMA career to becoming a ranked contender in the UFC.

“Benoit is incredible. He started from zero with me. I did the audition for the professional team, and he only had experience in jiu-jitsu,” Daniel Woirin told ‘MMA Fighting’. “I saw him train with professionals, guys with 15 or 20 pro fights, and saw him go 50-50 with them on the feet, ground, and wrestling. I was surprised.” Well, the 180-degree change is palpable.

Well, we’ll have to wait and see if Benoit Saint-Denis will respond to these claims from his former coach. However, there’s nothing for him to worry about as he seems to be finding his footing again under a new regime. It will be interesting to see how things pan out for him in the future. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.