Benoit St. Denis had a rough outing at UFC 329. | 📷:
Getty/UFC

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Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Benoit St.
Denis has released a statement addressing his loss to Paddy
Pimblett.

St. Denis was the betting favorite going into his lightweight
matchup against Pimblett in the co-main event of
UFC 329 in Las Vegas, as he was coming off a four-fight finish
streak while his English counterpart was fresh off his first defeat
in the UFC. However, “The Baddy” took just 52 seconds to put the
Frenchman to sleep and end his win streak.

Benoit St. Denis reflects on his UFC 329 loss and promises a
stronger return

St. Denis apologized to his fans for letting them down after UFC
329. While he admits that the loss is hard to digest, “God of War”
vows to bounce back stronger. He also hopes to avenge his loss to
Pimblett someday.

“Thank you all for your support. I'm sorry for letting you down and
for not delivering the victory we had hoped for,†St. Denis wrote
on X. “This defeat is brutal and hard to swallow, but it's part of
the journey. I learn through trials, I'll draw every lesson from
it, I'll keep working hard, and I'll come back stronger.
Congratulations to Paddy for his performance. I'm convinced that
one day, our paths will cross again. See you soon, BSD.â€

Pimblett (24-4) even accurately predicted that he would choke out
St. Denis (17-4) if the latter shot in for a takedown. Furthermore,
fans and pundits have criticized the latter's game plan, especially
considering how dry fighters are in the very first frame in
contrast to later rounds, when perspiration makes submission
escapes easier.

Merci à toutes et à tous pour votre soutien.
Je suis désolé de vous avoir déçus et de ne pas vous avoir offert
la victoire que nous espérions.

Cette défaite est brutale et difficile à encaisser, mais elle fait
partie du chemin. J’apprends dans l’épreuve, j’en tirerai toutes
les… pic.twitter.com/Ne1v2QdpEE

— Benoît “God of War” Saint Denis (@BenoitSt_Denis)
July 13, 2026

Islam
Makhachev's coach, Javier Mendez, has hailed one of his
students’ ability to mimic Ian Garry
ahead of the upcoming welterweight title clash in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Makhachev (28-1) looks to defend his 170-pound championship for the
first time against Garry (17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Garry
is known for excellent distance management and long-range strikes.
However, Mendez already has who he believes is the perfect fighter
to emulate the Irishman's style in their team.

Islam Makhachev's coach names ‘perfect' Ian Garry training
replica

Mendez is confident that another one of his pupils, Usman
Nurmagomedov, can copy almost any style. The
American Kickboxing Academy head coach recently revealed that
the
Professional Fighters League lightweight champion is one of
Makhachev's primary training partners, closely mimicking Garry's
style.

A middleweight
title fight headlines PFL Austin: Tune on Saturday, July 18 at 8
p.m. ET on ESPN.

“[Usman] is the best sparring partner you want to have,†Mendez
told Submission Radio. “Usman's at another level. People who have
never seen him should tune in to this kid. Because he is special…
Usman would be the one individual that can mimic almost anybody. He
would be the closest to Ian Garry for us.â€

Nurmagomedov (21-0) is considered among the best fighters in the
world competing outside the UFC. He will exhaust his current PFL
contract when he puts his lightweight title on the line against
Archie
Colgan (13-0) on July 31 at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.
His brother, Umar, is already a top-ranked bantamweight in the
UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion Islam
Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, claims his pupil is open to a
fight against Max
Holloway.

This comes after Holloway's win at
UFC 329, where he faced Conor
McGregor at welterweight. “Blessed†emerged victorious, albeit
with their rematch ending in anticlimactic fashion as McGregor
suffered an early injury. Mendez believes that neither Makhachev
nor Holloway would refuse a matchup against the other.

Javier Mendez discusses a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Max
Holloway UFC matchup after UFC 329

Ahead of his UFC 329 bout on July 11, Holloway expressed his desire
to fight Makhachev. Despite being beaten and thoroughly outgrappled
by Charles
Oliveira earlier this year, Mendez knows that Holloway will not
stop pursuing a fight with the current 170-pound king. He also
believes that his fighter would not back down from the challenge if
UFC pushes for it.

“Whatever the UFC wants to do, Islam's going to say yes and Max is
a legend and he doesn't back down from anybody… You can't cross Max
out in any competition because he's game,†Mendez told Submission
Radio. “Whether he does well or not, well, I don't know. But he's
game for it, so you can't ever cross him out. He's got the mind of
a warrior and the mindset of a champion, so he's up for any
challenge, I feel.â€

‘I wanted that fight': Javier Mendez on potential Conor
McGregor fight for Islam Makhachev

A McGregor victory could have strengthened the possibility of a
future bout between the Irishman and Makhachev, but that matchup is
now highly unlikely. The
American Kickboxing Academy coach further expressed that he was
disappointed with the result of UFC 329's headliner.

“Bummer. I mean, I wanted that fight because, look, listen, we as
coaches, we live for those moments to have an opportunity to be
with something like that, that magnitude,†Mendez said. “I've been
fortunate enough to have quite a few of them, so to have another
mega fight like that around the corner, potentially, that would
have been a great honor.â€