Top-10 UFC light heavyweight Ovince St. Preux notched the biggest win of his career Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 56, where he needed just 34 seconds to TKO ex-PRIDE/UFC champ Mauricio Rua.
St. Preux earned his second “Performance of the Night” bonus in his past four fights, making him $50,000 richer, per MMA Fighting. The UFC Fight Night 56 salaries are yet to be released as of this writing.
Stepping up to fight “Shogun” on a measly week-and-a-half notice, OSP was already prepared to square off with Francimar Barroso on the same card and was clearly ready for any and all challengers.
The main event of the evening seemed to be over before it started, as St. Preux caught Rua with a big left hook as he came forward swinging an overhand right.
Before the Brazilian legend had a chance to recover, the Strikeforce import unleashed some vicious ground-and-pound, leaving referee Mario Yamasaki no chance but to wave the fight off.
The former University of Tennessee linebacker, who entered the matchup as the No. 10 light heavyweight in the UFC’s official rankings, has now won six of his past seven fights and has all but erased a lopsided decision loss to Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 47 in August.
While OSP deserves a lot of credit for the victory, Rua is clearly at the tail end of his career and has to seriously start considering retirement an option—if he hasn’t already.
After compiling a rock-solid 12-1 record inside the PRIDE ring, the once-feared striker is now a once-unfathomable 6-8 under the UFC banner.
With his 33rd birthday awaiting him on November 25, Shogun has lost four of his past five fights, getting finished in all but one of those losses.
Also earning a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts in Uberlandia, Brazil Saturday was Leandro Silva, who submitted Charlie Brenneman in the first round of their lightweight contest.
Finally, a hard-fought bantamweight affair between Thomas Almeida and Tim Gorman netted each competitor “Fight of the Night” honors—and the $50,000 check that comes along with it.
Almeida won the bout via unanimous decision.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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