Tennessee Football Career Aided in MMA Development, St. Preux Says

Surging Strikeforce light heavyweight Ovince St. Preux (Pictured), though he admits the sports are different, credits some of his mixed martial arts success to the time he spent with the University of Tennessee football team, for which he played linebacker and defensive end, often in front of more than 100,000 people at Neyland Stadium:

“Tennessee football is fanatical, so the pressure is really on when you go out onto that field. You can feel it in the locker room, and it ties your stomach up in knots if you let it. MMA’s crowds aren’t as big, but the pressure is on because the successes and failures are all your own. You can’t blame a team or a piece of equipment if you lose.”