Tag: Ovince St. Preux

‘Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal’ — Live Results and Commentary


(Oh man. This is not going to end well. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Can you believe it’s been over three months since Strikeforce put on a legit non-Challengers card? The promotion finally gets back to business tonight with two title fights — Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal in the lightweight division and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka at women’s featherweight — plus a light-heavyweight bout between Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux that could produce a contender to the vacant belt.

Round-by-round results from the “Melendez vs. Masvidal” main card broadcast on Showtime will be collecting after the jump beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET, courtesy of CagePotato liveblog rookie Steve Silverman; please do your best to make him feel welcome. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.


(Oh man. This is not going to end well. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Can you believe it’s been over three months since Strikeforce put on a legit non-Challengers card? The promotion finally gets back to business tonight with two title fights — Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal in the lightweight division and Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka at women’s featherweight — plus a light-heavyweight bout between Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux that could produce a contender to the vacant belt.

Round-by-round results from the “Melendez vs. Masvidal” main card broadcast on Showtime will be collecting after the jump beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET, courtesy of CagePotato liveblog rookie Steve Silverman; please do your best to make him feel welcome. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal card coming up …

KJ Noons vs. Billy Evangelista in the first bout ….

Noons has lost two in a row while Evangelista lost his last bout. Noons is the striker, while Evangelista is more of a grappler.

R1: Both fighters start off cautiously and then Evangelista misses with a wild right. Noons surprises with a takedown. Evangelista easily gets out of it  and then takes down Noons, who escapes. Evangelista is more aggressive, lookingto take Noons down and going after him with knee strikes. Noons is very defense. Noons looks to find the range and can’t fnd it. Evangelista closes wiht a hard elbow and wins the close round.

R2: Both fighters are much busier in the second round, although Evangelista is more aggressive. He starts off with successive punches that appear to bother Noons, but not hurt him. Evangelista does not appear to respect Noons. Noons throws a straight right and Evangelista comes up with a quick knee. Evangelista dicatates the pace and may come out with the close rounds.

R3: Noons with big uppercut to start the round. He looks much more aggressive in this round. Evangelista can’t hit him with any punches or take control. Finally, Evangelista tries to get him in guillotine choke and he appears to have Noons, but he escapes. Noon throws a great left hook. Both fighters are tired heading into the last minute. Then a series of hard punches and Noon has the advantage. Noon wins this round but is it enough to secure the win?

Decision: KJ Noons wins the unanimous hometown decision over Evangelista, 29-28.

Next Bout: Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux

St. Preux, a former defensive end and linebacker from Tennessee, has won his last eight fights at the light heavyweight level. He’s all ground and pound. Mousasi, a former light-heavyweight champion, struggles as a wrestler. He wants to control the pace and keep St. Preux from fighting at a high speed and throwing significant bombs early.

R1: OSP with reach advantage and speed in early moments, but he looks awkward kicking and fails to deliver any serious blows or kicks. Mousasi with a kick and and a flurry. He then deflects OSP’s kick and throws him to the ground. Mousasi delivers ground and pound attack. He delivers vicious elbows and punches. He controls the round and while OSP gets a reverse, Mousasi regains control before the end of the round and dominates round 1.

R2: Mousasi gains control at the start of the round and there’s more ground and pound. OSP can’t do anything and Mousasi is very content to throw left forearms, punches and elbows. Eventurally they stand up at referee’s direction and OSP finally gains the advantage. He is trying to deliver lefts and rights himself, but is not as effective as Mousasi. With 30 seconds to go, both men stand up and round ends with Mousasi remaining in control. He wins round 2.

R3:Quick left foot by Mousasi to start the round. Mousasi with standing control, but OSP drives him to ground and gains side control. Starts to ground and pound and is fairly effective, but not as strong as when Mousasi had control. Mousasi drives OSP across the right and then regains control. In final minute OSP knows he needs a knockout and is looking for the big punch. Mousasi in protection mode and makes it through the round and should win the fight.

Decision: Mousasi wins unanimous decision, 29-28

Next bout: Cris Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka

Cyborg is a relentless fighter and a huge favorite in this bout. She is furious and powerful. Yamanaka is going to have to prove she has the speed and quickness to avoid those powerful punches.

Cyborg and Yamanaka for the Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Title

R1: In a matter of seconds, Cyborg wins the fight. She delivers a hard right hand and knocks down Yamanaka. She was badly hurt and got up and Cyborg delivered several more hard blows and went down again. The referee immediately stopped the fight. Cyborg defends her title.

Cyborg wins fight by KO at the 16 second mark.

The stats showed that Cyborg landed 15 of 21 punches and they were all power punches. Yamanaka was completely overwhelmed by the strength of her opponent and had no chance to compete. Cyborg dominated with her intensity and power and is a major force.

Final Strikeforce fight of the night: Gilbert Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal coming up.

Lightweight title bout, with Melendez defending his title.

Melendez should bring the pain against a very game opponent. He is simply too skilled for Masvidal.

R1: Slow start and then a 1-2 combination by Melendez. Melendez is using his boxing skills to set the pace. Masvidal throwing a few jabs, but very slow to compete. Melendez wiht a hard right power punch. Melendez with a right kick and then Mavidal with a jumping kick. Masvidal with a kick to the left heel drops Melendez but champion jumps right up. Melendez catches kick and tries to punish with  guillotine choke. Melendez throws a straight right hand and Masvidal closes with a right kick. Melendez busier and more effective throughout the round, but Masvidal started to get warmed up as round progressed.

R2: Masvidal is very upright and appears to be an easy target. Kick by Masvidal followed by hard right by Melendez. Melendez shuts down Masvidal right kick. A series 1-2 combinations by Melendez. Straight left by Masvidal, but Melendez is much more aggressive at this point. Good knee by Masvidal. That knee has given Masvidal more confidence. Action slows in the final minute and Melendez appears to have edge in this round as well.

R3: Melendez using boxing skills to set pace a the start of the third round. Masvidal is just hoping that Melendez makes a mistake so he can deliver a hard kick or punch. However, Masvidal does not look capable of throwing combinations. Jumping knee by Masvidal is effective. Melendez seems to be growing more comfortable and then Masvidal finally delivers a combination. Melendez is starting to get a mouse under his right eye. Melendez throws a sloppy kick. Busy final minute for both fighters and Melendez back to throwing combinations. This round is virtually even.

R4: Melendez with a few jabs and then a charging combination. He does not appear to be hurting Masvidal, but he is the aggressor. This Strikeforce fight is all about boxing skills. Melendez appears to be very happy with a boxing match and he is using his jab effectively and following up with his right. Masivdal throws a solid right jab and catches Melendez and backs him up for a second. Melendez wants to throw a big right and he is coming closer to delivering it as the round moves along. Big right by Melendez as his right eye closes. This could make a difference in the final round. Melendez blocks a knee from Masvidal in the final seconds. Slight edge in this round to Melendez.

R5: Masvidal needs to stop Melendez but he doesn’t show the quickness to throw combinations. Melendez is still aggressive and is getting in more rights as the round progresses. Great combination by Melendez. He circles to his left and throws combos. Masvidal throws a jab and it’s effective but there are no combinations. Melendez throwing punches, remaining busy and appears to be tireless. Jumping kick by Masvidal and Melendez follows with punch combination. Where is Masvidal’s urgency. Final minute of the fight and he acts like he’s sparring in the gym. Final minute and both men are throwing big punches. Close round but give it to the champion. He has to win this decision.

Decision: Melendez win unanimous decision. Two judges have it 50-45, the other has it 49-46. Melendez had the edge in power punches by better than 4 to 1.

Both Cyborg and Melendez were heavy favorites and both were big winners. Cyborg with a spectacular knockout while Melendez with boxing superiority.

Good night.

Gegard Mousasi Has Too Much for Ovince St. Preux

Filed under: StrikeforceOvince St. Preux is an athletic former football player who has promise as an MMA fighter, but he’s not on the level of Gegard Mousasi.

That’s what we learned at Saturday night’s Strikeforce event, as Mousasi handled St. Preux f…

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Ovince St. Preux is an athletic former football player who has promise as an MMA fighter, but he’s not on the level of Gegard Mousasi.

That’s what we learned at Saturday night’s Strikeforce event, as Mousasi handled St. Preux for the better part of 15 minutes to win a one-sided unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Mousasi, and it easily could have been more like 30-26.

St. Preux showed that he’s a tough customer who can take punishment, and Mousasi showed that he still has some work to do in his takedown defense, and that he too often allows his opponents get on top of him in dominant position. But make no mistake: Mousasi is the better fighter.

“I was sick before this fight, which took a lot of my conditioning away, but I think I did enough to win,” Mousasi said.

The first four round was all Mousasi: He battered St. Preux standing up and then schooled him on the ground, nearly submitting him with a kimura and finally pounding away in a crucifix position until St. Preux was saved by the bell. It was a 10-8 round for Mousasi on my card.

At the start of the second round St. Preux shot for a takedown, and Mousasi did a nice job of reversing it with a trip and ending up on top. Mousasi was clearly in control, but midway through the round the referee made a surprising decision to stand them up. After a brief exchange standing it was St. Preux who got on top in side control on the ground, but he didn’t do anything with it before Mousasi shrugged him off and stood back up. The second round was much closer, but it was another round for Mousasi.

Early in the third round St. Preux briefly had an opportunity to do something, getting on top in side control and then transitioning to full mount and attempting some ground and pound. But Mousasi blocked most of OSP’s punches and soon got himself out of trouble. Mousasi played it safe for the rest of the round, knowing he had won. The way Mousasi cruised at the end allowed St. Preux to take the round, but Mousasi clearly won the fight.

 

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Strikeforce Live Blog: Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux Updates

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Gegard Mousasi faces Ovince St. Preux at Strikeforce on December 17.This is the Strikeforce live blog for Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux, a light heavyweight bout on tonight’s Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

Mousasi (31-3-2) fought Keith Jardine to a draw at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley in April. Next, he stopped Hiroshi Izumi in July to defend his DREAM light heavyweight belt. St. Preux (11-4) is undefeated in five bouts under the Strikeforce banner.

The live blog is below.


Round 1: St. Preux opens with a head kick. Mousasi catches it. Mousasi lands a body kick moments later. Lots of trading kicks early. St. Preux looks a bit uncomfortable in there, reacting to every feint. Mousasi flashing his usual serial killer deportment. A St. Preux kick gets caught and Mousasi takes him down. Mousasi in St. Preux’s half-guard. Mousasi with blows from the top. St. Preux lands a kick from the bottom as Mousasi’s standing, but Mousasi quickly moves to side control with plenty of time to work. St. Preux tries to scramble to his feet but Mousasi drags him back down. Mousasi looks for the kimura but St. Preux powers out and ends up on top with :45 left. Mousasi quickly reverses and hammers St. Preux with stikes from the top. Mousasi gets the crucifix and rains down shots but runs out of time before he can finish. A 10-9 round for Mousasi.

Round 2: St. Preux shoots in early for a takedown. Mousasi defends and takes him down instead. Not the start St. Preux was looking for after a rocky first. Mousasi’s in his half-guard. Elbows from the top. St. Preux has Mousasi’s right leg locked down but Mousasi is able to inflict plenty of blows from the position. For some reason, the ref stands them up with two minutes to go. St. Preux scores with a knee but Mousasi catches it. The two jockey for position and St. Preux drags him down with 1:20 left. He fell into side control, and this is his best chance of the fight. Mousasi gets back to his feet very quickly though, and St. Preux will regret that missed opportunity. Another easy 10-9 for Mousasi.

Round 3: Mousasi’s wrestling is much improved. He’s taken him down a few times and outworked him other times. And just as I type that, St. Preux uses a switch and takes Mousasi down and into side control with 3:40 left. St. Preux mounts for a moment and lands a few elbows. Mousasi waits for space and works free. Back to their feet and Mousasi blasts a double leg and takes St. Preux down. Mousasi slowly works from the position. OSP scrambles and Mousasi tries an arm bar, ends up on bottom when he works free. OSP throws offense with an elbow. OSP tries a D’arce at the final horn but it’s not going to be enough. It’s another round for Mousasi 10-9.

Winner: Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

 

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Gegard Mousasi faces Ovince St. Preux at Strikeforce on December 17.This is the Strikeforce live blog for Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux, a light heavyweight bout on tonight’s Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

Mousasi (31-3-2) fought Keith Jardine to a draw at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley in April. Next, he stopped Hiroshi Izumi in July to defend his DREAM light heavyweight belt. St. Preux (11-4) is undefeated in five bouts under the Strikeforce banner.

The live blog is below.


Round 1: St. Preux opens with a head kick. Mousasi catches it. Mousasi lands a body kick moments later. Lots of trading kicks early. St. Preux looks a bit uncomfortable in there, reacting to every feint. Mousasi flashing his usual serial killer deportment. A St. Preux kick gets caught and Mousasi takes him down. Mousasi in St. Preux’s half-guard. Mousasi with blows from the top. St. Preux lands a kick from the bottom as Mousasi’s standing, but Mousasi quickly moves to side control with plenty of time to work. St. Preux tries to scramble to his feet but Mousasi drags him back down. Mousasi looks for the kimura but St. Preux powers out and ends up on top with :45 left. Mousasi quickly reverses and hammers St. Preux with stikes from the top. Mousasi gets the crucifix and rains down shots but runs out of time before he can finish. A 10-9 round for Mousasi.

Round 2: St. Preux shoots in early for a takedown. Mousasi defends and takes him down instead. Not the start St. Preux was looking for after a rocky first. Mousasi’s in his half-guard. Elbows from the top. St. Preux has Mousasi’s right leg locked down but Mousasi is able to inflict plenty of blows from the position. For some reason, the ref stands them up with two minutes to go. St. Preux scores with a knee but Mousasi catches it. The two jockey for position and St. Preux drags him down with 1:20 left. He fell into side control, and this is his best chance of the fight. Mousasi gets back to his feet very quickly though, and St. Preux will regret that missed opportunity. Another easy 10-9 for Mousasi.

Round 3: Mousasi’s wrestling is much improved. He’s taken him down a few times and outworked him other times. And just as I type that, St. Preux uses a switch and takes Mousasi down and into side control with 3:40 left. St. Preux mounts for a moment and lands a few elbows. Mousasi waits for space and works free. Back to their feet and Mousasi blasts a double leg and takes St. Preux down. Mousasi slowly works from the position. OSP scrambles and Mousasi tries an arm bar, ends up on bottom when he works free. OSP throws offense with an elbow. OSP tries a D’arce at the final horn but it’s not going to be enough. It’s another round for Mousasi 10-9.

Winner: Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Seven Ways of Looking at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal

Filed under: StrikeforceThe grand Strikeforce experiment will continue, whether fighters like it or not. Zuffa’s other organization takes its next step tonight in San Diego with Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal, and it’s already been a whirlwind week…

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Gilbert MelendezThe grand Strikeforce experiment will continue, whether fighters like it or not. Zuffa’s other organization takes its next step tonight in San Diego with Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal, and it’s already been a whirlwind week for the company that Scott Coker built. Below, a few questions, concerns, and comments heading into Saturday night’s event on Showtime.

I. That silence you hear? Yeah, that’s one reason why guys like Gilbert Melendez can’t wait to get out of Strikeforce and into the UFC. Fighters may not care how many articles get written about them in the lead-up to a fight, but they are still risking their health and whatever remains of their good looks in the cage on fight night, so they would prefer if people gave a damn. When it comes to Strikeforce these days, not many do. Maybe that’s why Melendez still talks openly about how much he’d like to move to the UFC, trying to paint this title defense against Jorge Masvidal as if it’s the last perfunctory step in the job application process for a UFC lightweight. Can you blame him? There’s no buzz for Saturday night’s event — not among media or fans. Dana White can “make it right” for Melendez by cutting him a check to compensate him for being stuck in Strikeforce, but he can’t make people care.

II. Money might help to make it right, but only for so long. Sure, Melendez’s desire to get to the UFC is partially motivated by financial concerns, and that’s the part White can help with. But don’t underestimate the role of ego here. Melendez wants to get paid, but he also wants to know that he’s testing himself against the best in the world, and on the biggest stage in the sport. He’s not getting the chance to do that right now, and he knows it. Nothing against Masvidal, but a win over him doesn’t do much to boost Melendez’s status in the lightweight rankings. It’s a fight where he has far more to lose than gain, in other words. The longer he stays in Strikeforce, the more of those he’s likely to have.

III. So what is Strikeforce, now that it’s not going away any time soon? Stephen Espinoza of Showtime Sports insisted on this week’s media call that “Strikeforce is not a secondary brand. …This is a top-tier organization.” If that were even close to true, however, you probably wouldn’t need to say it. People would just look at the fighters and the fights, and then they’d know. But what we see when we look at Strikeforce is an organization with a few very good fighters and a diminishing cast of also-rans to match them up against. It’s true that Melendez isn’t a second-tier fighter, but what does it matter if Strikeforce can’t find first-tier opponents for him? It’s like White has said about the UFC for years, usually when he wants to disparage the accomplishments of someone like Fedor Emelianenko: the UFC is the place where the best fight the best several times a year. Strikeforce might have some great champions, but they aren’t fighting the best right now. Melendez could make his case as one of the world’s best lightweights, but Jorge Masvidal can’t. Luke Rockhold is an excellent middleweight, but Keith Jardine isn’t a middleweight at all yet, much less a top contender in the division. It would be utterly unthinkable for Jardine to get a crack at Anderson Silva’s middleweight title. But in Strikeforce? Sure, why not. That probably tells us everything we need to know about whether this is a top-tier organization.

IV. Cris “Cyborg” Santos had to wait a year and a half to get another fight in Strikeforce. If she rolls right over Hiroko Yamanaka the way most people are expecting her to, how long will she have to wait for the next one? The answer to that question probably depends on whether she could realistically cut to 135 pounds or not. There simply aren’t enough opponents to keep her on a steady diet of challengers at 145 pounds, but you take one look at her frame and it’s hard to see where the excess pounds would come from. At the same time, if she stays put she’s not going to have much to do.

V. For a guy who hasn’t lost in nearly two years, Gegard Mousasi sure needs a win in a bad way. He’s 3-0-1 since dropping the title to Mo Lawal, but all three of those victories have come in Dream, against fairly unimpressive competition. He should have stomped an aging journeyman like Jardine, but instead ended up with a disappointing draw. If Mousasi is going to live up to his initial promise, he needs to start putting some wins together against opponents who matter. Beating up-and-comer Ovince St. Preux would be a good start, but it would only be a start. That’s what makes this such a tough fight for Mousasi. He has to win. OSP just needs to look good and stay competitive.

VI. Now that Zuffa runs Strikeforce, is KJ Noons in danger of getting cut if he loses his third straight fight? It’s hard to believe that the guy who was Nick Diaz’s nemesis and Gilbert Melendez’s would-be challenger now finds himself on a two-fight losing streak. In fairness, the first was a decision loss to Diaz, and there’s no shame in that — especially when you’re fighting out of your natural weight class to begin with. But then Noons dropped a decision to Masvidal in a bout he was favored in, so he now finds himself in a must-win situation against Billy Evangelista. Or does he? While the UFC might not have much use for serial losers, Strikeforce needs anyone with a name and even a modicum of drawing power. Noons still has both, so maybe that would be enough to justify holding on to him even if he loses. At least that’s one way Strikeforce’s peculiar status could actually work for fighters rather than against them.

VII. Justin Wilcox and Roger Bowling make you wonder: is it better to star on Challengers, or fight in the shadows of the Strikeforce prelims? For the last few years Strikeforce has used the Challengers shows to highlight up-and-comers (and occasionally down-and-outers), while using the prelims of its other events to sell a few tickets with local draws. But now that Challengers is disappearing, it seems as though guys like Wilcox and Bowling will get stuck on Strikeforce prelims instead, which seems both good and bad. For one thing, Challengers wasn’t ever a ratings winner, and the association had a certain negative connotation, like being on the JV squad. On the other hand, at least Challengers fights were on TV. At least they were the show, rather than the unaired show before the show. They might have thought they were playing to a tiny audience before, but now they’re really knocking down trees in a lonely forest. If you put on a great fight and nobody sees it, does it really make a sound?

 

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Ovince St. Preux: I’m Not Scared of Going Toe-to-Toe With Gegard Mousasi


(Photo via Strikeforce.com)

By Anton Gurevich

This weekend, Ovince St. Preux will step inside the Strikeforce cage to face the former Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi as part of the stacked Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal fight card in San Diego, California. Representing Knoxville Martial Arts Academy, 11-4 St. Preux will look to prove a point about his future as one of the best 205’ers on the planet.

Twenty-eight year old Ovince St. Preux turned his career around after fighting six times (!) in 2010, improving his MMA record from 3-4 to a more appropriate 9-4. In 2011, St. Preux recorded two important victories against Abongo Humphrey and Joe Cason that eventually solidified his place on the Light Heavyweight landscape.

Speaking in an interview to LowKick.com, St. Preux gave Gegard Mousasi the credit for being the biggest name he ever faced inside the cage or ring. The Haiti-born fighter expects a well-rounded game from Mousasi, who he considers as one of the 10 best Light Heavyweights in MMA.

Check out this interview on Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com!


(Photo via Strikeforce.com)

By Anton Gurevich

This weekend, Ovince St. Preux will step inside the Strikeforce cage to face the former Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi as part of the stacked Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal fight card in San Diego, California. Representing Knoxville Martial Arts Academy, 11-4 St. Preux will look to prove a point about his future as one of the best 205′ers on the planet.

Twenty-eight year old Ovince St. Preux turned his career around after fighting six times (!) in 2010, improving his MMA record from 3-4 to a more appropriate 9-4. In 2011, St. Preux recorded two important victories against Abongo Humphrey and Joe Cason that eventually solidified his place on the Light Heavyweight landscape.

Speaking in an interview to LowKick.com, St. Preux gave Gegard Mousasi the credit for being the biggest name he ever faced inside the cage or ring. The Haiti-born fighter expects a well-rounded game from Mousasi, who he considers as one of the 10 best Light Heavyweights in MMA.

Check out this interview on Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com!

Ovince St. Preux a Confident Underdog Against Ex-Strikeforce Champ Mousasi

Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting ExclusiveThe opportunity that changed Ovince St. Preux’s future wasn’t supposed to ever happen. Back in the early spring of 2010, when Strikeforce was putting together its soon-to-be infamous Strikeforce: Nashvill…

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The opportunity that changed Ovince St. Preux‘s future wasn’t supposed to ever happen. Back in the early spring of 2010, when Strikeforce was putting together its soon-to-be infamous Strikeforce: Nashville event, the promotion was looking for local talent to fill out the undercard.

At the time, St. Preux was a relative rookie in the sport, having competed for just over a year. It’s safe to say that back then, he wasn’t exactly a prodigy. With a record of 4-4, he also wasn’t lighting up the radar of major MMA talent seekers. In fact, when St. Preux’s name was floated for the card, Strikeforce execs were against it. It was only the tenacious and repeated calls from some of his coaching staff to the Strikeforce office that ultimately landed him on the event, and St. Preux has taken the opportunity and sprinted with it.

Since that moment, he has yet to lose. Now 11-4 and with five Strikeforce wins under his belt, St. Preux makes the leap to title contender, fighting former light-heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi in the co-main event of Saturday’s Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal event.

But how did he get from there to here? How does one start off a career winning just three of his first seven bouts, then suddenly find a new gear and dominate everyone put in front of him?

St. Preux said it was a few simple adjustments that changed everything. The former University of Tennessee football player recommitted himself to strength and conditioning, focusing on correcting stamina issues that he says plagued him early on. He also changed his eating habits, and when the time came, he seized his moments.

At Strikeforce: Nashville, he ended up romping in a 47-second TKO. A couple of months later, he scored an 8-second knockout of former UFC fighter Jason Day. With every win, he learned something about himself.

“Some of those fights let me know know where I was,” he told MMA Fighting. “I wouldn’t say I doubted myself, but when you have a lot of people telling you that you’re good, sometimes you ask yourself, ‘Am I that good?’ So when you actually go out against those opponents and take care of business, you go, ‘OK, I think I could push myself a little more.'”

St. Preux’s confidence grew further with wins over hard-hitting strikers Antwain Britt and Benji Radach, and when he added a win over Abongo Humphrey for his seventh win in 11 months, it seemed that St. Preux was on his way to contention. But first he got a strangely matched bout with debuting Joe Cason.

St. Preux didn’t allow himself any disappointment at what most saw as a step back from a matchup perspective, and ran through Cason in just 72 seconds. That set up his current match with Mousasi.

“It’s just a situation that worked out perfectly for me,” he said. “I don’t feel like I have anything to lose. I don’t have my back against the wall. It’s a situation where I’m the underdog for this fight anyway.”

Not that he feels like an underdog. St. Preux acknowledges that Mousasi is the better striker and even the better submission fighter, but he feels the edge is his when it comes to wrestling. Above that, he feels he’s simply a better fighter than Mousasi.

“People will be surprised that I say that, but we’ll see what happens after the fight,” he said. “We’ll see if they’re still surprised after the fight.

“He’s one of those top fighters,” he continued. “He’s 31-3, he’s the type of fighter who has a lot of will, he’s a tough guy. So it’s not like I’m going in there thinking I’m going to cakewalk all over him. I’m going in there like it’s an adventure. I’m definitely going to go in there and make sure I use all my skills to the best of my ability.”

The Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship is currently vacant, left behind by Dan Henderson when he moved over to the UFC. The winner of the St. Preux-Mousasi fight seems a logical choice for one-half of a future title bout. Though that hasn’t been guaranteed, those are likely the stakes he’s playing for.

That’s a pretty good second act for a guy who grew up wanting to play in the NFL. After exhausting his eligibility at UT, St. Preux briefly tried to wedge his way into pro training camps, but wasn’t able to find a situation that offered him a legitimate opportunity to make a roster.

“I always say ‘I never quit football; football quit me,'” he said.

St. Preux still has his roots down in Tennessee, training at the Knoxville Martial Arts Academy, just 15 miles from Neyland Stadium, the home of UT’s football Volunteers. But he sprinkles in occasional work with Team Quest in Temecula, California, and arrived in the state a week earlier than necessary in order to get in some time there before facing Mousasi.

And make no mistake about it, this is the fight he wanted. After his last win over Cason, when Strikeforce announcer Mauro Ranallo asked St. Preux what might be next for him, Mousasi’s name was the first thing out of his mouth.

“Everything kind of worked out my way, and now I’ve got to capitalize on it,” he said. “I’ve just got to do my job and keep on winning.”

In the last two years, that’s all he’s done. And on Saturday, he can continue the unlikely story of going from a losing record to the verge of a major championship.

 

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