UFC 171 ‘Hendricks vs. Lawler’ Preview

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Light Heavyweights

Ovince St. Preux (14-5, 2-0 UFC) vs. Nikita Krylov (16-3, 1-1 UFC) The Matchup: Krylov’s sloppy Octagon debut against Soa Palelei will live forever in the bad-bout hall of fame, but the a decidedly slimmer “Al Capone” rebounded nicely in his sophomore outing, knocking out Walt Harris in 25 seconds at UFC on Fox 10.

The next natural step for the 22-year-old was to complete the transformation and drop to light heavyweight. When Thiago Silva was arrested and subsequently released by the UFC, Krylov was available to fill in against St. Preux. At this point, it is difficult to get a handle on the Ukrainian. He is not nearly as bad as he looked against Palelei, but the short-lived matchup against Harris was not especially revealing. It does appear safe to say that Krylov is best when he can clock out early. All 16 of his triumphs have come inside of a round, including seven in less than a minute. Moving to light heavyweight does not guarantee success, however. The fighters at 205 pounds are generally better athletes with deeper gas tanks, although Krylov could have a size and strength advantage in many matchups.

A former linebacker at the University of Tennessee, St. Preux has only lost once in his last 12 fights, and that defeat came at the hands of Gegard Mousai under the Strikeforce banner. Despite the impressive streak, St. Preux has yet to really earn a signature win. In two UFC appearances, he has bested Cody Donovan and Gian Villante. The latter might represent his best win, except that it appeared the tide was turning against St. Preux before an accidental eye poke prematurely ended the proceedings.

St. Preux will have a slight reach advantage against the former heavyweight, and one has to guess that conditioning will be in his favor, as well. St. Preux is a decent counterpuncher who is willing to throw strikes in combination. He can also use kicks to control distance. He looked vulnerable to the takedown in the loss to Mousasi, but other than that, his defense has been solid. St. Preux displayed heavy ground-and-pound of his own in dispatching Donovan in August.

The Pick: Provided he does not get caught in an exchange, St. Preux is the better overall athlete and should be well-rounded enough to emerge with the victory. St. Preux wins by TKO in round two or three.

Last Fights » The Prelims