Light-heavyweight staple Ovince St. Preux met prospect Tyson Pedro in the co-main event of the evening at UFC Singapore. And after being rocked early, OSP persevered.
Two fighters coming from very different backgrounds met in the co-main event at UFC Singapore. Tyson Pedro entered the night with only a couple of fights in the UFC. The 26-year old was coming off a win at UFC 221, and was looking to move up in the division. On the other hand there was Ovince St. Preux. OSP has been a staple in the division for years, with wins over Shogun Rua, Patrick Cummins, and Yushin Okami. The light heavyweight has been a tough fight for anyone at 205 — with the biggest fight of his career being a decision loss to Jon Jones on short notice. For an interim title no less.
Something very apparent to start the fight was that OSP was the far bigger fighter. Not that it would matter, as Pedro started the fight by firing off a question mark kick. Pedro moved forward again and OSP ate another big kick. That rocked Ovince St. Preux! OSP was then dropped by a big right hand. As he scrambled back to his feet Pedro looked for a guillotine, but OSP was able to use that size advantage to pull free. OSP surprised Pedro with a takedown, but Pedro quickly got back up, and looked to control OSP against the fence. Pedro looked for a takedown, but OSP rolled and landed on top of Pedro.
Tyson Pedro rolled to his back, with OSP was on top. Not a good position, which led to Ovince St. Preux looking for a straight armbar. Impressively, he got locked it in, and Pedro tapped! An incredible comeback by Ovince Saint Preux, and a win that could get him back into the top five.
For Tyson Pedro, the potential is there — but he’s just not top ten material just yet. Ovince St. Preux, meanwhile, remains a couple of fights away from a title fight in the thin light-heavyweight division.
Ovince Saint Preux def. Tyson Pedro by submission (straight armbar), Roud 1, 2:54
