The undefeated Shamil Gamzatov gets a big step up in competition when he faces Ovince Staint Preux at UFC Lincoln.
Von Flue expert Ovince Saint Preux has his next opponent set: Russian prospect Shamil Gamzatov. Gamzatov, who made his octagon debut last year, will face off with OSP at UFC Lincoln later this year. Russia’s Vestnik MMA was first to report the news on Thursday.
Saint Preux (24-13) recently settled a USADA case, accepting a three-month suspension due to a contaminated supplement. OSP had been set for a fight with Ryan Spann at UFC 247, but the fight was pulled thanks to the timing of the doping incident.
Most recently, Saint Preux defeated Michał Oleksiejczuk via a Von Flue choke submission at UFC Copenhagen back in September. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for the light heavyweight.
Gamzatov (14-0), who competed for the PFL in 2018, is a surging prospect right now. He won his promotional debut against Klidson Abreu back in November. His perfect record will be getting a big test against OSP, however, who holds the UFC record for Von Flue choke submissions (4) and once challenged Jon Jones for the interim light heavyweight title.
UFC Lincoln (UFC Fight Night 173) takes place April 25, 2020 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The card to date looks as follows:
Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Antonina Shevchenko
Evan Dunham vs. Michael Johnson
Anthony Rocco Martin vs. David Zawada
Zak Cummings vs. Andrew Sanchez
Mackenzie Dern vs. Ariane Carnelossi
Christos Giagos vs. Alan Patrick
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Shamil Gamzatov
