Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight bruisers Ovince Saint Preux and Tyson Pedro collided last night (June 23, 2018) at UFC Fight Night 132 from inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
Saint Preux is a longtime member of the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division, but he’s yet to defeat a true top contender. Last year, “OSP” built up an excellent win streak before quickly falling victim to the powerful Ilir Latifi — interestingly, the last man to defeat his opponent as well — and the Tennessee-native was forced to begin again.
Standing opposite the veteran was one of the division’s best prospects. Pedro can basically match Saint Preux’s size, which is an impressive feat on its own, but the up-and-comer was also a formidable grappler and heavy puncher.
It took about five seconds for the big men to start smashing round and snap kicks into each other. Moments later, Pedro slammed a question mark kick into Saint Preux’s guard and followed up with heavy punches, dropping “OSP” to the mat. Pedro attempted to end the bout then and there with a guillotine choke, but Saint Preux survived the strangle
An extended period of clinch wrestling resulted in Pedro attempting to force the takedown, and Saint Preux was able to reverse his way into top position. Almost immediately, Saint Preux landed some hard shots and settled in half guard. He quickly began isolating an arm, and Pedro was soon forced to submit to a straight arm bar.
Wow.
The fight didn’t last long, but there was a ton of action here. Saint Preux was sharp in the kickboxing early — utilizing kicks and crosses like a smart Southpaw — but still wound up getting dropped badly. Things could have ended there, but Saint Preux showed that being a veteran is a huge advantage.
In truth, it was patience and experience that won Saint Preux the fight. He did not panic when hurt, nor did he immediately try to break free and get Pedro back. Instead, he waited inside the clinch and defended the takedown, biding his time until Pedro gave him an opening to reverse. Once on top, Saint Preux’s strength was obvious, and he’s always been a crafty submission fighter.
This was an excellent bounce back victory for “OSP.” Of the rest of the Light Heavyweight top 10, Saint Preux has yet to face Jan Blachowicz, which seems like a reasonable challenge.
As for Pedro, this was a very slight case of too much, too soon. It sounds ridiculous to say that since Pedro dropped Saint Preux and was doing great until about the final 20 seconds, but Pedro definitely showed his inexperience. Clinging to the clinch and trying to force the slam will work against lesser athletes and unskilled foes, but against a veteran with a similar build, that wasn’t going to cut it.
Furthermore, it wasn’t the best decision in the first place. Trying to guillotine the wounded Saint Preux was fine — it literally just worked for Latifi a few months ago — but afterward Pedro should have pushed away. His foe was badly hurt, and it may have taken just a few more punches or a single clean question mark kick to end the fight.
It’s really not a huge loss though; this will be a great learning experience for the already very good Aussie.
Last night, Ovince Saint Preux nearly snapped the arm off his foe. What’s next for ‘OSP?’
For complete UFC Fight Night 132 “Cerrone Vs. Edwards” results and play-by-play, click HERE!
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