Ovince Saint Preux will dabble at heavyweight for his next fight.
Saint Preux, who has the second-most light heavyweight fights in UFC history with 20, will jump up a weight class to fight Ben Rothwell on the UFC’s May 13 event.
MMA Junkie verified the matchup between Saint Preux (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC) and Rothwell (37-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC) with a person close to the situation following an initial report from ESPN. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
The May 13 card (which does not have an official name) will take place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It would be the UFC’s second event back after suspending all cards to the coronavirus pandemic, with UFC 249 on May 9 being the first.
Saint Preux, 37, is coming off a second-round submission of Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 18 in September. He finished the fight using his patented Von Flue choke, the fourth time he’s done so in UFC competition.
Now “OSP” will see if those skills translate against bigger opponents when he takes on Rothwell, 38, who in December snapped a three-fight losing skid with a TKO of Stefan Struve at UFC on ESPN 7.
The latest lineup for the UFC’s May 13 event includes:
- Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira
- Ben Rothwell vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Ovince Saint Preux moves to heavyweight, meets Ben Rothwell at UFC's May 13 event
