Ovince Saint Preux had a golden opportunity at UFC 197, but he failed to capitalize and left the Octagon with an injury.
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Saint Preux Breaks Arm
Saturday, April 23
UFC President Dana White announced Saint Preux suffered a broken arm during his unanimous-decision loss to Jon Jones for the interim UFC light heavyweight title Saturday, per Fox Sports: UFC.
It’s unclear when Saint Preux suffered the injury, but his left arm was noticeably limp by the fourth round after a takedown by Jones, per UFC:
Despite the fight swinging in Jones’ favor for most of the night, Saint Preux was able to connect on a few noticeable shots to Jones’ face in the early rounds. Some of them appeared to rattle the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world, but Jones won the interim championship to set up a rematch with current champion Daniel Cormier at a later date.
Jones began to set up Saint Preux for takedowns late in the fight and landed three in the final two rounds.
This is bad luck for Saint Preux, who was the No. 6 contender in the division coming into Saturday’s event in Las Vegas. It could also lead to a major shakeup in the light heavyweight division. Rashad Evans is currently No. 7, but he has hinted at a possible drop to the middleweight ranks after losing to Glover Teixeira earlier in April, per Nick Baldwin of Bloody Elbow.
Alexander Gustafsson has lost back-to-back fights, and Ryan Bader could leapfrog him soon. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua could also benefit from Saint Preux’s absence, however long that may be.
The 205-pound Saint Preux has now lost two of his last three fights.
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