UFC 197's Ovince Saint Preux: 'I'm a beast, too. We both can do some beast (expletive)'

UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux said rumors of champ Daniel Cormier’s withdrawal began circulating as early as this past Tuesday.

But even before that, Saint Preux told MMAjunkie, his camp had told UFC matchmaker Joe Silva he would take short-notice fights, so it stood to reason that he had some chance of stepping in to face ex-champ Jon Jones at UFC 197.

“I didn’t know what my chances were,” he said. “I thought I was maybe the No. 2 or No. 3 guy.”

As it turned out, the former Tennessee Volunteers football player was right – mostly. With Anthony Johnson not medically cleared to compete, and former champion Rashad Evans already booked opposite ex-champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, he was the UFC’s best option.

But after Saint Preux’s phone rang this past week during errands, he got an update he didn’t expect.

“I got another call, probably 30 minutes later,” he said. “’The contract is on its way. And, oh by the way, it’s not only just the main event – it’s going to be for the interim title.”

Ovince Saint Preux

“It adds a little more pressure,” Saint Preux (19-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) added. “Not to me, but to him. In a situation like that, what do you have to lose?”

Few would argue Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC), 28, is the guy gambling bigger on April 23 when UFC 197 takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The former champ once famously sunk a pay-per-view card when he refused a short-notice fight, but agreed to save UFC 197 when champ Cormier (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) withdrew due to a leg injury.

Saint Preux’s career, on the other hand, is marked by frequent short-notice appearances in the now-defunct Strikeforce and the UFC. Some of them have been spectacular wins.

In November 2014, he stepped in to face ex-champ Rua when opponent Jimi Manuwa was injured. In just 34 seconds, he stopped Rua with a flurry of punches.

“At times, I feel I do better on short notice,” Saint Preux said. “It’s going to get a little hectic in the next two, three weeks. But at least it wasn’t like that for the last three or four months, so I don’t have to do any adjustments at all. All the adjustment’s on (Jones). You look at me, and I’m a pretty good fighter. I can hold my own with the best of them.”

Yet no one would dispute Saint Preux is the underdog in his bout with Jones, the No. 1 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie light heavyweight MMA rankings, and No. 1 on the pound-for-pound list, as well. Despite Jones spending more than a year on the sidelines from legal troubles stemming from a hit-and-run accident, and a parole violation that briefly landed him in jail this past week, he opened as a -675 favorite in betting lines.

Saint Preux, who is coming off a pedestrian decision over Rafael Cavalcante two months ago, isn’t about to boast he’s a better fighter than Jones, who’s essentially unbeaten in his eight-year, 22 fight career. Saint Preux noted Jones’ ability to remain fluid between technique and minimize his weaknesses place him among the all-time greats in fighting.

Jon Jones

But Saint Preux will say he has a chance to finish the fight because he can match Jones’ athleticism and because he has the power to end fights with his punches and kicks.

“Guys like that, you break them out of their pattern, and that’s what I intend to do,” he said. “If I have the opportunity to finish him, I’m going to go ahead and take that opportunity. I guarantee you, he knows, as well as his camp knows, I can do that if the opportunity presents itself.

“He’s a beast, and I’m a beast, too. We both can do some beast (expletive).”

Saint Preux coach Joey Zonar said Jones’ recent legal troubles probably won’t slow the ex-champ down in the cage, “but if it does, that’s a plus one on my side.”

While Saint Preux’s strikes early in the fight undoubtedly represent the greatest threat to Jones, the 32-year-old fighter said he’s trying to be smarter in the way he measures force.

“I might not put you away, but you’re going to feel it, and your knees are going to buckle,” Saint Preux said. “And if I hit you with a third one, it will put you away. That’s the happy medium I’ve been working on.”

When he traveled to Brazil on short notice to face Rua, Saint Preux could only get one coach to corner him. This time around, he’ll have his entire team by his side, a nutritionist living with him full-time, and a well-planned strategy to beat Jones.

When he spoke to MMAjunkie, he had just emerged from a meeting that will map out to the minute his training and nutrition prior to the fight. A scheduled visit from his longtime residence in Knoxville, Tenn., to his hometown of Immokalee, Fla., for his 33rd birthday on Friday (as well as his father’s on Tuesday) is now postponed. But the small town is rooting for him.

“The celebration’s going to happen later,” Saint Preux said. “I’ve been getting a lot of messages on Facebook. I talked to my brother, and he said, ‘Well, I guess the whole town knows about everything now.’ It’s a small town. If you’re doing something, everybody knows. I just want to make everybody back home proud.”

For more on UFC 197, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.