Ovince Saint Preux ready to rebook 'Shogun' Rua after UFC-Japan, but also wants losses back

SAITAMA, Japan – UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux came to Japan to fight Mauricio Rua.

“Shogun” (25-10 MMA, 9-8 UFC), as it turned out, couldn’t make it. A curious rematch made three years after Saint Preux laid out the former PRIDE champ in his home country was canceled when injuries interceded.

Yushin Okami (34-11 MMA, 13-6 UFC) stepped up and promptly went out when Saint Preux (21-10 MMA, 9-5) applied his signature Von Flue choke in the FXX-televised headliner of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 117. But Saint Preux wouldn’t mind giving Rua another chance to earn revenge.

“I definitely came here to fight ‘Shogun’ and definitely want to fight ‘Shogun,'” Saint Preux said. “But whoever’s ahead of me right now.”

Two fighters ahead of Saint Preux also happen to hold wins over him. After he failed to win the UFC interim light heavy title against Jon Jones, he dropped back-to-back bouts against Jimi Manuwa (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Volkan Oezdemir (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), respectively.

“I have two losses I think about, to Volkan and Jimmy,” Saint Preux said at Saitama Super Arena, which hosted the event. “Definitely I’d love to have those back. So whatever the UFC wants to do from here.”

The way things played out, Manuwa and Oezdemir went on to fight each other after taking out Saint Preux. And in an upset, the lesser-known Oezdemir scored a blistering first-round knockout.

A rematch with Oezdemir seems like a logical step for Saint Preux, but Rua also is on a three-fight win streak. With two wins under his belt, Saint Preux certainly is in a better spot than he was in 2016.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 117, check out the UFC Events section of the site.