5 Defining Moments: Ovince St. Preux

Ovince St. Preux has the look of a marathon runner in the home stretch.

A dependable piece of the Ultimate Fighting Championship machine for almost a decade, “OSP” will climb into the Octagon for the 26th time when he faces Philipe Lins in a UFC Fight Night 219 light heavyweight prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. St. Preux, who turns 40 in April, owns a 14-11 record in the UFC. He has lost six of his past 10 bouts—a drought that includes a December 2020 technical knockout defeat to current light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.

As St. Preux moves ever close to his upcoming showdown with Lins at 205 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. An Ode to Von Flue

St. Preux put Nikita Krylov to sleep with a shoulder choke in the first round of their UFC 171 light heavyweight showcase on March 15, 2014 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas. A short-notice substitution for Thiago Silva, Krylov lost consciousness 1:29 into Round 1. St. Preux swooped in for an early takedown and moved immediately to side control. Krylov held the guillotine position in an ill-advised attempt to counter the former University of Tennessee linebacker’s advances, leaving himself vulnerable to a choke popularized by Jason Von Flue. St. Preux was all too happy to oblige.

2. Dose of Reality

Repeated well-disguised takedowns, a neutralizing top game and some productive work in the clinch carried “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Ryan Bader to a unanimous decision over St. Preux in the UFC Fight Night 47 headliner on Aug. 16, 2014 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. All three cageside judges scored it for Bader: 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46. St. Preux’s bright spots were few and far between, though the he did lift the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler off his feet with a thudding second-round body kick. He was often limited to single-strike success, as Bader moved into position behind his punches and countered St. Preux’s advances with takedowns. He executed multiple takedowns in the first, third and fourth rounds, keeping “OSP“ bottled up on his back. Still, St. Preux closed strong. He delivered a takedown of his own in Round 5 before opening a cut on Bader with a sharp elbow, but his efforts were not enough to produce the finish he needed.

3. Hostile Guest

St. Preux ripped apart former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Mauricio Rua on his way to a quick technical knockout in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 56 main event on Nov. 8, 2014 at Tancredo Neves Municipal Gymnasium in Uberlandia, Brazil. It was over in just 34 seconds. Rua moved in with a wild overhand, leaving himself open for the counter. A replacement for the injured Jimi Manuwa, St. Preux caught the forward-moving Brazilian with a perfectly placed left hook that put “Shogun” on the ground. He wasted no time in capitalizing on the opportunity, as a series of unanswered lefts on the ground forced referee Mario Yamasaki to act on Rua’s behalf.

4. Short of the Standard

Jon Jones laid claim to the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over St. Preux in the UFC 197 headliner on April 23, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “Bones” pitched a shutout on all three scorecards: 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45. A short-notice fill-in for Daniel Cormier, St. Preux enjoyed little to no success. Jones connected with nearly twice as many significant strikes (105-57) and total strikes (111-58), landed at a much higher percentage (66%-35%) and completed three of his five takedown attempts. He was at his best in the fourth round, where he landed 15 more strikes than St. Preux threw, executed two takedowns and passed guard three times.

5. Flipping the Switch

St. Preux knocked out “The Ultimate Fighter 19” winner Corey Anderson with a spectacular third-round head kick as part of the UFC 217 undercard on Nov. 4, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York. A late replacement for Patrick Cummins, “OSP” drew the curtain 1:25 into Round 3. Anderson enjoyed long stretches of success, as he bullied his way into the clinch, secured takedowns and assaulted the Immokalee, Florida, native with ground-and-pound. Momentum appeared to be in his corner at the start of the third round, but one swing of St. Preux’s mighty left leg changed everything. Shin met skull in the center of the cage, instantly freezing Anderson where he stood. No follow-up shots were required.