Ovince Saint Preux: The only thing I heard was 'broken' vs. Ryan Jimmo

UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux said he isn’t in the business of hurting people. But when it comes to a fight, he has been trained to fight until the referee tells him to stop.

While some online MMA observers criticized Saint Preux for torquing Ryan Jimmo‘s arm as he yelled out that his arm was broken, the recently victorious fighter is adamant he did nothing wrong.

“I did my job as a fighter,” Saint Preux on Monday told MMAjunkie Radio. “The ref is there to protect us, but at the same time, all I heard was, ‘broken.’

“If (Jimmo) said his arm was broken, my coach probably would have wanted me to do it, but knowing me, I probably would have stopped. But my coach always told me, ‘Don’t stop until the referee tells you to stop.’”

Jimmo (19-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) did not tap out in the UFC 174 fight, which served on the event’s pay-per-view main card at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena. But then again, he didn’t have much of a chance to do so. Saint Preux (15-5 MMA, 4-0 UFC) began twisting his good arm into a submission hold as he yelled to the referee that his other arm was broken.

Re-watching the fight, Saint Preux questioned why Jimmo didn’t tap, but he said people who believe he did something dirty “weren’t in my situation.”

“When you’re in a fight, it’s just like everything is hitting you all at once,” he continued. “I didn’t hear anything. The only thing I heard was ‘broken.’ That’s it. I didn’t know what that was, and I’m in the middle of a fight. It’s almost like somebody walking up to you and saying, ‘Hey! What are you doing?’ You’re either going to jump, or turn around and hit them. I’m going to turn around and hit you.”

Saint Preux knows from experience that letting up can cost him in a fight. He said he fought a bout in his amateur career where he gained back mount against his opponent and began punching to earn a finish. Then, he heard something.

“Right when he was about to go to sleep, all I can hear in the background is, ‘Baby, get up,’” Saint Preux said. “He came to the fight with a girlfriend, and the girlfriend is yelling, ‘Baby, get up.’ And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Man, I’m going to put this dude to sleep,’ and I actually let up a little bit.

“And I thought about it (later), and I thought, if he was in my situation, would he have let up on me? Probably not. I have no ill will toward anybody, but at the same time, it’s like, you think about it. Would he have been as nice to me? Nope. A lot of fighters, you say, ‘I’m hurt, I’m hurt,’ and they’ll come after you.”

Jimmo recently posted pictures of his arm, which was broken by a kick midway through the fight. Saint Preux wasn’t surprised that one of his shots had the potential to do that, but wasn’t aware when the injury occurred.

“I knew one of the kicks landed pretty solid,” he said. “I just didn’t know it did that much damage.”

Now, the former college football player awaits his next challenge in the octagon. As it turns out, the place that gave way to criticism also gave him an idea for his next opponent.

“I got myself in a situation to where everybody is talking about me possibly fighting Ryan Bader, so I think that’s a good matchup,” said Saint Preux. “He was that guy who was in the top-10. Actually, he’s still in the top-10, right? So I’m definitely ready to take that next step, and I’m really not trying to wait around for anything. If you wait around too long, you’re going to end up missing your shot. I’m ready.”

Bader also fought at UFC 174 and dominated Rafael Cavalcante for his second straight win. In the UFC’s rankings, Bader sits at No. 8 while Saint Preux is No. 10. In the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, meanwhile, Bader is No. 11, while Saint Preux is an honorable mention.

At 4-0 in the octagon, Saint Preux would like to fight Bader next, but he’ll wait to see what the UFC says about the matchup.

“I’ve just got to wait on the hierarchy to make that decision,” he said. “I’m not the one who’s going to make that decision. (UFC President) Dana (White) and all those guys make the decision.”

For complete coverage of UFC 174, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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