Ovince St. Preux: Michal Oleksiejczuk ‘Handed Me Submission’ at UFC Copenhagen

After being hurt and largely dominated in the first round against Michal Oleksiejczuk on Saturday in one of the featured bouts of UFC Fight Night 160 in Denmark, Ovince St. Preux rallied for a win and a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

St. Preux (24-13) struggled early in the first against the Pole, but he turned things around and put Oleksiejczuk to sleep with his signature submission win, the Von Flue choke at 2:14 of the second. The sub also allowed St. Preux to be tied with Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira for most stoppages in UFC light heavyweight history with 10, and the finish also tied him with Jones, Teixeira and Misha Cirkunov for most in the division’s history with five. His Von Flue choke finish is a record for the UFC as he nabbed his fourth overall. The choke has been re-named by many as the “Von Preux" choke because “OSP” has landed it so many times.

But even with the win and bonus, “OSP” wasn’t pleased with his overall performance.

“I wasn’t too happy with my performance in the first round,” St. Preux said after his win. “I wasn’t expecting him to press me that much but I knew he was going to gas in the second round. I felt really good in the second round. He over committed, he handed me the submission. When I took him down, he stayed on his back — he didn’t even want to fight!”

St. Preux was able to avoid catastrophe as he had lost two in a row and three of four coming into his showdown with Oleksiejczuk. He knew he could ill-afford another loss and with his future inside the Octagon on shaky ground, he absolutely had to come out of Denmark the victor.

“My last two fights didn’t go the way I wanted,” he said. “This time around I knew I had to do something different. That was one of the best wake ups I’ve ever had.”

St. Preux is eager for his immediate future, as his win has reignited the fire that once saw him once oppose Jones for the interim light heavyweight title three years ago. He’s willing to fight again sooner rather than later, but first he said he must take care of a few things.

“I’m going to go home, reassess some stuff and heal up some injuries,” he said. “I’ll wait for coach to tell me when to go again. I’m willing to fight again in 2019, if coach says so.”