UFC tries Ovince Saint Preux vs. Philipe Lins again, this time for February

In the wake of a string of fight booking cancellations outside of his control, Ovince Saint Preux is booked again.

After three opponents withdrew from bouts opposite him at UFC 282, Saint Preux (26-16 MMA, 14-11 UFC) was removed from the Dec. 10 card. Now, he’s rebooked against Philipe Lins (15-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) for a bout on the UFC Fight Night card Feb. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A person with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting first reported the booking.

Saint Preux and Lins were previously linked on multiple occasions. In November 2013, the two were matched up but Saint Preux withdrew. The second booking was for UFC 282 in December, but Lins withdrew.

Both Saint Preux and Lins are 1-2 in their most recent three, with victories in their most recent outings. In April, Lins picked up his first UFC win when he defeated Marcin Prachnio by unanimous decision. Two weeks later, Saint Preux won a rematch vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by split decision.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 18 includes:

• Gabriel Benitez vs. Jim Miller
• William Knight vs. Marcin Prachnio
• Billy Goff vs. Themba Gorimbo
• Evan Elder vs. Nazim Sadykhov
• Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Joe Solecki
• Clayton Carpenter vs. Juancamilo Ronderos
• Abus Magomedov vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Philipe Lins vs. Ovince Saint Preux