The UFC 299 co-main event between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint-Denis has been scrapped due to Poirier failing to come to contractual terms. The bout was never contractually signed.
Poirier made the announcement on Thursday via X. “My fights off but still working,” Poirier posted.
My fights off but still working 👊 pic.twitter.com/DRG61CJySA
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 1, 2024
UFC President Dana White announced the bout a few weeks ago although the fight was never signed.
“There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced and we couldn’t come to terms,” Poirier told Ariel Helwani.
I reached out to @DustinPoirier about his tweet that the BSD fight at 299 is off.
His response:
“There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced and we couldn’t come to terms.”
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 1, 2024
Poirier (29-8, 1 NC), the former interim lightweight champion, was knocked out by Justin Gaethje in their rematch in his last outing at UFC 291. Saint-Denis (13-1, 1 NC) is riding a five-fight winning streak and coming off a head-kick knockout win over Matt Frevola in his last fight at UFC 295. It’s unclear whether UFC matchmakers will try to rebook the matchup for a later event.
The fight promotion has yet to make a statement about the fight falling apart. UFC 299 takes place on March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The event is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera.
The main event is a rematch. Vera handed O’Malley his only career loss at UFC 252 in August 2020. The stakes will be much higher on March 9.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/ufc-299-co-main-event-scrapped-dustin-poirier-couldnt-come-to-terms
