UFC 322 could not have asked for a better start to its main card. After a run of explosive early prelims and prelims, the action officially kicked off with a catchweight showdown between veterans Beneil Dariush and Benoit Saint-Denis. The bout was originally set for lightweight, but after Dariush missed weight on Friday, the matchup was shifted to catchweight instead. Even though Dariush appeared to have a size advantage, it meant little once the fight began.
As soon as the cage door closed, Benoit Saint Denis delivered exactly what the Madison Square Garden crowd came to see. In just 16 seconds, the number 13-ranked lightweight star flattened the number 9-ranked Beneil Dariush with a devastating face-plant knockout. The win earned Benoit Saint Denis a share of Dariush’s purse and pushed his winning streak to three. For the 36-year-old Dariush, the defeat ended any realistic hopes of climbing back into the title picture.
Meanwhile, Benoit Saint Denis continued his momentum with a third straight finish, sending fans into a frenzy across social media. One fan wrote on X, “Wtf what a start to the main card!!! BSD with the KO” which was echoed by another user who posted, “BSD faceplants Dariush in second.” With this emphatic victory over Beneil Dariush, BSD has now positioned himself for a strong move up the lightweight conversation.
Dariush
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— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) November 16, 2025
(More to come…)
The post Benoit Saint-Denis Gives UFC 322 Fans Their Money’s Worth With 16-Second KO of Beneil Dariush appeared first on EssentiallySports.
