Ovince St. Preux
Professional UFC Fighter
Eagle Moon Hemp Fight Team
Ovince Saint Preux is a professional mixed martial artist. He began competing in 2008 and, since 2013, has been competing in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. He stands out due to his unconventional fighting style and has gained attention in the sport due to his use of the rare Von Fluke choke submission.
The Beginning For Ovince Saint Preux
Ovince Saint Preux, aka “OSP,” was born April 8th, 1983 in Miami, Florida. His parents were Haitian immigrants who settled in Immokalee, Florida. Saint Preux’s family was large, twin brothers 13 years older, a brother 1 year older, a sister, younger by 2 years, and another set of twin brothers 3 years his junior.
Saint Preux credits his father for inspiring him to succeed. The harsh living in Haiti, the sacrifices he made for his family, and finally bringing them to the US made Saint Preux’s father a major influence on his life.
While growing up, Saint Preux wanted to be a police officer, but it was in sports where he excelled. He played high school football and was on the track and wrestling teams. He demonstrated excellence in all three sports and even went on to play football at the University of Tennessee. While in College he earned a degree in Sociology.
While football did not turn out as a career, during his time at university Saint Preux was introduced to kickboxing and submission grappling. This was the beginning of his martial arts career.
MMA and Beyond
Saint Preux has been competing since 2008. Before joining the UFC in 2013 as a light heavyweight, he competed for Strikeforce, the XFC, and Shark Fights. He gained notoriety and attention with an unconventional fighting style and his use of the Von Fluke choke submission hold. This use of a rare choke submission earned Saint Preux three Performance of the Night awards. He is also the only fighter to use the hold successfully for a second, third, and fourth time in the UFC.
Saint Preux’s greatest desire is to become the light heavyweight champion. He came close in April of 2016, competing against Jon Jones, a fighter many believe may be the best MMA fighter ever. Even though he broke his arm blocking a kick in the second, Saint Preux continued for three more rounds, forcing the fight to a decision. It was unanimous for Jones, but when his coach revealed Saint Preux had fought three rounds with a broken arm, admiration for the fighter ramped up.
Career Details
Saint Preux’s amateur record spans November 16, 2007 to May 17, 2008. He came out of amateur status with a perfect 5-0 record, including one decision, one submission, a TKO, and two KOs. His first 3 professional fights were with VFC 1 and XFC 7: School of Hard Knox. The first two fights Saint Preux lost by decision, but the third, with XFC 7, he won with a head kick KO. He also was a runner up for Inside MMA’s Submission of The Year, 2009. Saint Preux was making a name for himself, and people were noticing.
Ovince Saint Preux Going Professional
Saint Preux signed a deal with Strikeforce in 2010 and continued with them until August of 2012. During his time with Strikeforce he had seven fights, plus one outside the organization. In those 2 years, he managed seven wins and only one loss.
UFC Career
2013
Strikeforce was closed in January 2013, and Saint Preux, along with many fighters, were brought into the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. The new organization seemed a positive change as he won both of fights in 2013.
2014
Saint Preux was scheduled to fight Thiago Silva in January 2014, but Silva ended up not being able to compete. In his match with the replacement fighter, Saint Preux fought Nikita Krylov, whom he defeated with his infamous Von Flue Choke hold. His record for the 2014 year was three wins, one loss (by decision).
2015
Saint Preux only had two matches this year, in April and August. He knocked out Patrick Cummins in the first round, but lost to Glover Teixeira in a close match, by submission. The Cummins Teixeira fight was so good both fighters were given Fight of the Night awards.
2016
In his three matches in 2016, Saint Preux won, by decision, in February against Rafael Cavalcane, even though he injured his ankle in the first round.
In April Saint Preux had his arm broken blocking a kick by Daniel Cormier in the second round. He was able to continue the fight for three more rounds but lost by unanimous decision.
2017
This was an excellent year for Saint Preux. Despite losing to Volkan Oezdemir in February in a split decision, he went on to win his next three fights. In April he faced off with Marcos Rogério de Lima, winning with a Von Flue chock submission in the second round. This made Saint Preux the only fighter in the UFC to win twice with this submission hold. He next defeated Yushin Okami in September, once again with the Von Flue choke, his third successful use of the hold. This earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. Finally, after a pitched first and second round, Saint Preux won against Corey Anderson with kick to the head KO in the first minute of the third round. This earned him yet another Performance of the Night award.
2018
In his three fights this year, Saint Preux had a 1-2 record. He lost by technical submission in the first round against Ilir Latifi in January, won by submission in the first round against Tyson Pedro (earning Saint Preux another Performance of the night award) in June, and lost by unanimous decision against Dominick Reyes in October.
2019
Saint Preux had two fights in 2019. In April, he lost by submission to Nikita Krylov. And in September, facing Michal Oleksiejczuk, he won again using Von flue choke submission. This marked his fourth win using the technique, and earned the fighter another Performance of the Night award.
2020
Saint Preux stepped up as a late replacement and moved up to the heavyweight division when he fought Ben Rothwell in May. He started off slow in the fight, testing the waters of a powerful heavyweight opponent but once he turned it on in the later rounds he almost finished Rothwell. Rothwell was dropped at the very end of the third round and was saved by the bell. It was a good test at heavyweight, but he ultimately returned to his natural weight class in September. Saint Preux defeated Alonzo Menifield with a brutal one punch KO in the second round. This earned him another Performance of the Night award.
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