Ovince St. Preux ‘a little surprised’ with 34-second victory over ‘Shogun’ Rua

UBERLANDIA, Brazil — Ovince Saint Preux wasn’t planning to engage in a slugfest with Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 56, and he didn’t need to after all.

With only 34 seconds in the main event clash in Uberlandia, Brazil, on Nov. 8, OSP connected a huge left hand that dropped the former light heavyweight champion to the ground. A few more punches forced referee Mario Yamasaki to end the punishment.

“I thought I could win this on my feet. It’s bad to be aggressive against me,” St. Preux said at the post-fight press conference. “I was a little surprised. When I landed the overhand, I said I might as well finish the fight. I was surprised.”

Rua dropped to 2-6 when fighting in UFC main events with the quick finish in Brazil, but St. Preux doesn’t think he should retire.

“I don’t think he was slow at all,” he said. “The thing about me is that I’m super explosive and I can take you to the ground super quickly. I think he mistook my reach so I was able to catch him. I don’t think he’s slow, he still have it. He hit me with a couple of good leg kicks.”

Right after the win, OSP said he would be interested in fighting Fabio Maldonado or Anthony Perosh next. At the post-fight press conference, he didn’t mention any names.

“We have a couple of people in mind for who is next,” OSP said, “but it’s something I have to discuss with my camp.”

On his Twitter, Maldonado quickly accepted the original offer.

“I never ran form a challenge,” Maldonado wrote. “I thought you’d ask for someone better ranked than me. Challenge accepted.”

UBERLANDIA, Brazil — Ovince Saint Preux wasn’t planning to engage in a slugfest with Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 56, and he didn’t need to after all.

With only 34 seconds in the main event clash in Uberlandia, Brazil, on Nov. 8, OSP connected a huge left hand that dropped the former light heavyweight champion to the ground. A few more punches forced referee Mario Yamasaki to end the punishment.

“I thought I could win this on my feet. It’s bad to be aggressive against me,” St. Preux said at the post-fight press conference. “I was a little surprised. When I landed the overhand, I said I might as well finish the fight. I was surprised.”

Rua dropped to 2-6 when fighting in UFC main events with the quick finish in Brazil, but St. Preux doesn’t think he should retire.

“I don’t think he was slow at all,” he said. “The thing about me is that I’m super explosive and I can take you to the ground super quickly. I think he mistook my reach so I was able to catch him. I don’t think he’s slow, he still have it. He hit me with a couple of good leg kicks.”

Right after the win, OSP said he would be interested in fighting Fabio Maldonado or Anthony Perosh next. At the post-fight press conference, he didn’t mention any names.

“We have a couple of people in mind for who is next,” OSP said, “but it’s something I have to discuss with my camp.”

On his Twitter, Maldonado quickly accepted the original offer.

“I never ran form a challenge,” Maldonado wrote. “I thought you’d ask for someone better ranked than me. Challenge accepted.”