00:10Hello, everybody.
00:13A while back here.
00:15You get the big fight with Patty Pimble here on a Conor McGregor card.
00:18What is this like for you?
00:20This is a big opportunity.
00:22Yeah, it's a privilege to be here on such a huge card.
00:27And, of course, it's a huge fight.
00:29I'm fully concentrated on what I have to do
00:31and deliver you a fight-of-the-night performance.
00:35Were you surprised that Patty Pimble was the name given to you?
00:42Not too much.
00:44I do believe I put myself in being in small group conversations,
00:50and he was part of it.
00:52So it's a huge fight, and I'm not under the same meeting him.
00:58You obviously were given a big opportunity a few years back against Dustin Poirier,
01:02and you've gone through some low times, but you've come through and you're on a run right now.
01:07Is this a bigger fight right now, fighting Patty Pimble,
01:10or do you feel like the Dustin Poirier was a bigger fight at the time?
01:13It's a very tough game to have the same opportunity.
01:17You need to win a lot.
01:18So this is what I have been doing.
01:22The game is this way.
01:24You have to win as much as possible, the most impressive way possible.
01:28This is how you get your shots.
01:30The division is obviously very different right now.
01:32Justin Gaethje just beat Ilya Teporia.
01:34He's the undisputed lightweight champion.
01:36What was your reaction to Justin's performance against Ilya?
01:39What does that mean for you in this division if you get a win on Saturday?
01:43I did a great job.
01:45I mean, a masterclass in terms of application of his game plan.
01:50With Trevor Whitman, they did a great job,
01:52and he had enough toughness to go through the two first rounds,
01:56and then the game plan started paying off, and he won that fight.
02:01Great, great performance.
02:02And last question for me.
02:04Conor McGregor is back.
02:05He's fighting Max Holloway in the main event.
02:07And how do you see that fight going down?
02:09What's your prediction for the main event?
02:12It's a huge fight.
02:14It's a huge interrogation with Conor.
02:17He hasn't been fighting since a long time.
02:20I just do believe that the more time the fight will last,
02:25the better it will be for Max Holloway.
02:29Then we're over here in the center.
02:30We saw Paddy Pimblik go five rounds with Justin Gaethje.
02:33You're used to going out there and getting quick finishes.
02:36Any part of you watch that fight and make sure you don't overexert yourself,
02:40trying to get the finish and tire out?
02:43No, I mean, he did a fight where he won one round and lost four,
02:50and it was a tough fight.
02:52He showed a lot of good stuff, good moments,
02:55but also some holes in his game.
02:58And it was a huge fight, a great fight to watch.
03:02And I cannot wait to be inside the cage with him and to do my job.
03:08Do you expect there to be any trash talk in this fight?
03:11Because we know Paddy can sell a fight a little bit.
03:14Whatever, you know.
03:16I'm ready, and I cannot wait to be on Saturday.
03:20I think with me, you know, you are here for...
03:23You will have your money back when you watch the fight anyway,
03:26so you don't need special service.
03:31You don't need anything more than that.
03:33What did you think of Mauricio Rufi,
03:35who's apparently going to be the backup for the Conor McGregor fight?
03:37Do you think that was the right choice?
03:40Very cool for him to have this opportunity.
03:45And, yeah, he's a very good fighter,
03:47and I do believe it may be a huge fight if anything happens.
03:53And just last one for me, a win here, especially a finish,
03:56does that get you the next title shot or at least close to it, do you believe?
04:01I never say anything before having my job done.
04:05First of all, humility doing your job,
04:08and then you can hear me loud and clear.
04:13Benoit, over here.
04:14Over here.
04:16You've served in the military.
04:18What is one thing that you've learned from your time serving your country
04:21that has helped you in your fight career?
04:26Having the ability to go fast in my career,
04:30to learn fast, to have good schedules,
04:33to be prepared, to be a better fighter over time.
04:37Stress management.
04:38I mean, I started MMA in 2018,
04:41and 2019 I started professional,
04:44and 2021 I was in the UFC,
04:46so it went pretty fast because I was able to put on good schedules
04:51and to manage my stress,
04:54to fight as much as possible,
04:55and to have my body ready for it,
04:58and just to do the job.
05:09Benoit, you mentioned there that you see several deficiencies in Paddy's game.
05:14What are those deficiencies or the glaring ones that you see?
05:19I will not go into details,
05:21but, I mean, I think if I do my job correctly,
05:28you will see them on Saturday night.
05:33Benoit, right here.
05:35Just one.
05:36Benoit, not many fighters can say that they're called upon by the UFC
05:40to be in a big fight in Canada and then also in France,
05:45and then obviously you have a big opportunity.
05:47Andy, what does it mean to you that the promotion sees you as somebody
05:50that they can rely on and can count on to have these big fights
05:54and that will excite the crowd in many places around the world?
05:59I'm really blessed and happy about it.
06:01I'm trying my best to enjoy being a warrior.
06:06This is my philosophy.
06:07I want to fight as much as possible, to win as much as possible,
06:11and to get closer and closer to my ultimate goal, being the champion.
06:17And this is what I do and the opportunity that is giving me the UFC as well.
06:22And I do my best to give them the best performance possible every time.
06:33Benoit, just ici pour la France.
06:36Cette rivalité un peu historique entre la France et l'Angleterre,
06:39là, c'est quelque chose qu'on retrouve dans la cage.
06:40Il y en a beaucoup qui font l'allusion au crunch.
06:42Est-ce que c'est quelque chose, toi, à laquelle tu fais attention ?
06:46Oui, je pense que pour le public, ça rajoute un petit peu d'enjeu.
06:49J'ai la chance d'être vachement suivi par la communauté rugby
06:52parce que c'est un sport qui me tient à cœur
06:54et auquel j'assiste régulièrement.
06:58Et France-Angleterre, c'est un gros, gros match.
07:00Donc, je pense que ça rajoute toujours un petit peu de piment.
07:06Juste ici, Benoit.
07:07Justement, Paddy a dit que lui, ça ne lui mettait pas plus d'enjeu,
07:09cette rivalité France-Angleterre.
07:11De ton côté, ça donne une motivation supplémentaire ?
07:14Oui, je pense que c'est surtout ultra cool pour le public.
07:19Ça a ce côté un petit peu historique et cette rivalité historique qui est cool.
07:23Mais maintenant, clairement, je suis concentré sur mon combat.
07:26Et je n'ai pas besoin de motivation supplémentaire pour faire mon travail samedi soir.
07:30Deux autres questions par rapport à la France.
07:32Il y a aussi l'équipe de France de football qui joue demain.
07:35Est-ce que tu vas regarder ça ?
07:36Et est-ce que tu es content justement d'être aux Etats-Unis dans cette même semaine, cet événement ?
07:40Et déjà, je te laisse répondre à ça.
07:42Oui, je suis très content de pouvoir assister au match France-Maroc.
07:46Je pense qu'on a toutes nos chances dans ce match.
07:49Ça va être un match difficile, mais qui sera ouvert, je pense.
07:51Et j'espère que la France va l'emporter.
07:54Je vais changer en anglais pour la dernière one.
07:56Paddy a dit que tu es open everywhere.
07:58Et tu veux capitaliser sur ta agressivité.
08:02Tu as une réponse à ça ?
08:03Parce que depuis le dernier, tu as été known pour un bon plan de game.
08:08Tu as été dans la lutte.
08:11So, will we see the Benoit that Paddy expects to see in the cage ?
08:19All I can say is, may the better fighter win.
08:21And whoever will impose his will will get that fight in his hands.
08:27Last one for me.
08:28Do you have eyes on the prize for the next step ?
08:31For example, if you win, a lot of people talk about belts.
08:34But if, for example, Kono or Max win as well, do you have eyes on this fight as well ?
08:40So, for example, my question is simple.
08:42If you get the opportunity to fight Kono, but without a belt, or Justin for the belt,
08:46what will be your choice ?
08:50I mean, I would do whatever the UFC is giving me, the opportunities they are giving me.
08:56He's a huge legend of the sports.
08:57And if he beats Max, he just shows that he's still at a very high level sportively spoken as well.
09:05So, it will be in a testing fight as well.
09:08As always, Max, all those guys, I have a lot of respect to them.
09:12For them, building your legacy is not about how many times you win.
09:18It's about who you win against.
09:21I do really believe that.
09:23And that's something people forget sometimes.
09:25It's not about how many times you win.
09:27It's about who you do that.
09:28And as a fan of the sports, what's it feel to be on the Kono card for you ?
09:33Last for me.
09:33It feels great.
09:35Like I said, an honor and a blessing to be here.
09:40And I'm happy to be able to showcase my skills Saturday night here in Las Vegas.
09:48Benoît, en français, tu en as parlé un peu plus tôt là dans le Mediadem, mais comme ça en français.
09:52Quand tu as vu le combat de Toporia contre Géji, qu'est-ce que tu en as pensé et qu
09:56'est-ce que tu as fait ?
09:57On sait que tu adores ce genre de guerre.
09:59Toi-même, tu as un peu le sourire aux lèvres en parlant du fait que potentiellement tu peux y participer.
10:03Qu'est-ce que tu as pensé de ce combat techniquement et en tant que juste combat, en tant que
10:06fan du sport ?
10:08Je pense que Géji a eu la capacité, malgré les difficultés qui lui ont été proposées par Ilya, de rester
10:14concentré sur son game plan et de l'appliquer de A à Z.
10:18Et c'est ça qui lui a fait remporter le combat.
10:20Donc malgré un deuxième round très compliqué, il a réussi à rester focus sur ce qu'il avait à faire.
10:26Et ce qui, avec le temps, a payé très fort pour lui.
10:31Est-ce que tu es impressionné, même si on le savait, par la dureté de Géji ?
10:36Non, j'ai toujours vu que c'était un gars qui était dur.
10:39Il l'a montré plusieurs fois avant.
10:41Donc ce n'est pas ça, mais plus la capacité à rester intelligent et focus malgré la dureté du combat.
10:47Ça montre qu'il est lucide dans des états de fatigue importants.
10:54C'est ça qui est dur.
10:55Et la dernière fois, pour moi, en français aussi.
10:57Et là, le fait de voir ce combat-là, Géji-Tuporia, ça l'a rendu humain, Tuporia.
11:02Est-ce que ça te rend encore plus confiant du fait que là, le titre est vraiment proche et tout
11:06le monde peut l'avoir, quoi ?
11:07Tu sais, c'est un sport d'humain.
11:09On est tous humains, donc tout le monde peut être battu et battre son adversaire.
11:14C'est ce qui rend ce sport excitant.
11:18Et je suis excité, quoi qu'il arrive, par mon opposition et je suis prêt au combat.
11:25Merci.
11:26Merci à tous.
11:26Merci.
11:28Merci.
11:30Merci.
11:30Merci.
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