Long-time light-heavyweight contender Ovince St Preux will reportedly move up to heavyweight and face Ben Rothwell on May 13.
St Preux AKA ‘OSP’ has fought at 205lbs for his entire 37-fight MMA career. He has beaten the like of Shogun Rua, Pat Cummins, Yushin Okami and Corey Anderson. Last time out he scored a submission win over Polish fighter Micha? Oleksiejczuk. The 37-year-old ‘OSP’ will now abandon the light-heavyweight division according to MMA Junkie who reports.
“Saint Preux, who has the second-most light heavyweight fights in UFC history with 20, will jump up a weight class to fight Ben Rothwell on the UFC’s May 13 event.
“MMA Junkie verified the matchup between Saint Preux (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) and Rothwell (37-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC) with a person close to the situation following an initial report from ESPN. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.”
The fight will be part of the May 13 show set to take place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The unnamed event will be just the second one back for the promotion who will hold UFC 249 on May 9. Another event on May 16 has also been announced – it will be headlined by Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris.
Yesterday it was announced light-heavyweight contenders Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira would headline the May 13 card. Smith is looking to work his way back into title contention after falling short against Jon Jones last year. He beat fellow contender Alexander Gustafsson last time out and will be keen to add another big name to his resume. Teixeira will be hoping to extend his three-fight winning streak and make his claim as next in line for a shot at UFC gold.
Do you think Ovince St Preux will be able to compete at heavyweight?