MANCHESTER, England – Ovince Saint Preux is taking the most notable loss of his career in stride. He said his UFC 197 interim title fight defeat to Jon Jones is represents his abilities, and he’s confident the rest of the division knows it, too.
Yes, Saint Preux (19-8 MMA, 7-3 UFC) lost the fight to Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) by unanimous decision, but the fact he accepted the bout as a short-notice replacement for injured champ Daniel Cormier makes it easier to accept. He saw where his skills stack up against the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA pound-for-pound rankings under less than ideal circumstances, and he thinks the the rest of the division saw it, as well.
That includes Saint Preux’s UFC 204 opponent, Jimi Manuwa (15-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), whom he fights on Saturday’s pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass at Manchester Arena in England.
“It was an opportunity,” Saint Preux told MMAjunkie. “Anybody would have been stupid to not take an opportunity. An opportunity was presented to me, and I went ahead and took it. … I think I made the best of that situation. Everybody know what I’m capable of, and every other fighter in the weight class knows what I’m capable of too.”
Saint Preux was the most recent person to fight Jones prior to the interim 205-pound champion running into his latest out-of-the-cage misstep. Less than three months after their fight, “Bones” was pulled from a UFC 200 rematch with Cormier when he was flagged with a potential doping violation.
Jones has claimed his innocence but is on the sidelines as he attempts to resolve the issue and clear his name. Many have labeled him as a cheater, but as the most recent person to fight him, Saint Preux said he’s not rushing to judge.
“At the end of the day, everything comes to light,” he said. “It’s something I don’t worry about. It’s something I don’t wrap my head around, and everything comes to light. Since USADA came into play, they’ve been finding the people they need to find. I’m not worried about anything.”
With Jones in his rearview mirror, Saint Preux said his focus is solely on Manuwa. He described the fight as a “good matchup,” and it’d seem that’s due to his wrestling advantage. Although Manuwa has lost fights in the past because of his grappling deficiency, Saint Preux said he doesn’t feel the need to take the fight to the ground.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Saint Preux said. “It’s wherever it takes me. People tell me not to strike with certain people, but a lot of elite strikers don’t want to strike with me anyway. It’s something I’m not worried about. As long as I stick to the game plan, I’ll be fine.”
Saint Preux said he’s OK with an obvious step down in competition since he he fell short in his big opportunity and needs to do something to return to his winning ways.
It’s not the same stature of fight against a grabby name like Jones, but in Saint Preux’s mind, it’s equally important. And if he doesn’t win, the chance to return to headlining fights like he had against Jones moves much further away.
“Every fight to me is the most important fight,” Saint Preux said. “This fight right here is going to put me in a situation to actually better myself in the 205 division. It doesn’t matter to me what fight I’m in.”
For more on UFC 204, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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