UFC 315 results: Benoit Saint Denis snatches nasty arm triangle choke to tap out Kyle Prepolec

Benoit Saint Denis put on a dominant performance to dispatch late replacement opponent Kyle Prepolec to kick off the main card at UFC 315.

Originally slated to face Joel Alvarez on Saturday, Saint Denis instead had to take on the returning Prepolec, who was hoping for better returns after a brief stint in the UFC a few years ago. While he showed great toughness, Saint Denis eventually overwhelmed Prepolec before securing a nasty arm triangle choke that got the job done.

The tap from Prepolec came at 2:35 in the second round as Saint Denis returns to his winning ways after two straight losses.

“Everybody thank you Montreal,” Saint Denis said afterward. “It’s an honor and a privilege to fight here. [Matuesz] Gamrot, [Dan] Hooker, [Justin] Gaethje, I’m here. Gamrot, if you are looking for an opponent, I respect you but I’m going to bring violence.”

It took Saint Denis less than 20 seconds to rush forward and snatch a takedown with Prepolec grabbing onto a kimura in an attempt to slow down the powerful French lightweight. Saint Denis eventually advanced his position before he began raining down punches and elbows with Prepolec stuck trying to defend.

A scramble ended with Prepolec stuck having Saint Denis on his back with a body triangle locked in but he was still surviving. Saint Denis continued his assault with a late standing rear-naked choke but Prepolec managed to resist enough to make it to the end of the opening round.

On the restart, Prepolec actually connected with a couple of stiff punches that got Saint Denis’ attention and brought the Montreal crowd to its feet. Saint Denis returned fire by pressing Prepolec against the cage and then unloading a barrage of punches and elbows.

That led to another takedown but this time Saint Denis had no plans of allowing Prepolec to get up again because he immediately advanced into position to lock on the arm triangle choke. This time, Prepolec’s defense got shredded and he had no choice but to tap out as Saint Denis secured the submission win.

While it wasn’t the fight he was supposed to have at UFC 315, Saint Denis still made the most of his opportunity and now he’s looking back towards the lightweight rankings for his next opponent.