Benoit Saint Denis made his case for one of the division’s top contenders after UFC Fight Night 258.

Saint Denis (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) dominated and submitted highly touted lightweight Maurcio Ruffy (12-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

Now that he’s back on a winning streak, Saint Denis wants a big step up in competition. With Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) seemingly needing one more fight before getting a title shot, Saint Denis has thrown his name in the hat.

“I think I have been facing the No. 15 two times in a row,” Saint Denis said during his UFC Fight Night 258 post-fight news conference. “First time, (Joel Alvarez) had problems and I had to face another opponent, (Kyle Prepolec). This time I faced No. 15, I beat him fast, and I’m back to doing what I love to do. I lost myself before the Dustin Poirier fight, and for one year in 2024. I’ve been learning a lot. I made a lot of mistakes. I think my head got big. I made a lot of problems for myself, not focusing anymore on the fight game, which is what I enjoy to do.

“Now I’m back at it, and I cannot wait to showcase that by facing a guy like Arman, (Dan) Hooker, (Mateusz) Gamrot – I mean, anybody inside the top 10. I know they wanted to make Arman vs. Gamrot. They wanted to make me vs. Gamrot. It didn’t work. Maybe me vs. Arman, because obviously Gamrot vs. Arman was already made. I don’t know what will be the UFC’s plans, but I refuse nobody. I’m back at the version of myself which is fight as much as possible and win as much as possible, no matter the opponent.”

Saint Denis was the betting underdog heading into his fight with Ruffy, but was happy to implement his game plan in effective fashion.

“I knew he was going to be dangerous on the counter. He’s explosive on the attack, too,” Saint Denis said of Ruffy. “He’s one of the most dangerous opponents, especially at the start of the round when he’s not tired. I just fought my style. I mixed it up and I tired him out and I put him in my universe, which is war. I’m the ‘God of War.’ Since the age of 19, I’ve been doing all kinds of warfare.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Benoit Saint Denis wants Arman Tsarukyan after stopping Mauricio Ruffy

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