UFC 274: Mauricio Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux

There’s only one light heavyweight matchup on the UFC 274 main card from Phoenix on Saturday and it features former champion Mauricio Rua against Ovince Saint Preux in a rematch. Saint Preux is a -270 favourite to win on the MMA odds, while Rua is a +195 underdog. The over-under is 1.5 rounds with the over favoured at -155.

Mauricio Rua UFC 274 Odds

Rua is one of many legendary fighters out of Brazil and the 40-year-old’s career is about finished. He is 27-12-1 in an MMA career that began way back in 2002. His first major belt was as the Pride middleweight Grand Prix champion in 2005 when he was voted Fighter of the Year regardless of organization by Sherdog.

Rua’s debut in the UFC was actually a third-round knockout loss to Forrest Griffin in 2007. “Shogun” has fought some of the legends in the sport, including Alistair Overeem, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.

At UFC 104, Rua fought Machida for the lightweight title and all three judges scored the bout 48-47 in Machida’s favour, but nearly everyone else, including UFC President Dana White, thought Rua had won. Thus, there was an immediate rematch in May 2010 in Montreal. Rua did win this time by first-round KO. He lost the belt to the legendary Jones at UFC 128 by third-round TKO.

The last fight for Rua was in November 2020. He lost to Paul Craig by second-round TKO and suffered an elbow injury. Immediately afterward, Rua said he wanted two more fights before retiring.

Rua fights average 9:02, and he lands 3.57 significant strikes per minute with 50 per cent accuracy. He absorbs 2.71 strikes with 54 per cent defence. His takedown average is 2.12 per 15 minutes with 48 per cent accuracy. His takedown defence is 47 per cent.

The 6-foot-1 Rua wins the vast majority of the time (78 per cent) by KO/TKO and half of his 12 losses are the same. This will be his 23rd UFC light heavyweight bout, tied for the most appearances in divisional history. Rua’s 14 knockdowns landed in UFC light heavyweight competition are tied for the most.

Ovince Saint Preux UFC 274 Odds

Like Rua, Saint Preux is unranked in the light heavyweight division. The 39-year-old American and former University of Tennessee football player is 25-16 in an MMA career that began in 2008 (and with back-to-back losses).

In November 2014, Saint Preux upset Rua in Brazil by first-round knockout. At 34 seconds, it was the fastest knockout loss of Rua’s career. The irony there was Saint Preux was a last-minute replacement for the injured Jimi Manuwa. They were expected to have a rematch in Japan in 2017, but Rua suffered a knee injury and withdrew from the bout.

“OSP,” who has never gotten a title bout and clearly won’t at his age, enters off back-to-back losses against Jamahal Hill (second-round TKO) and Tanner Boser (second-round KO).

Saint Preux fights average 9:36. The southpaw lands 2.65 significant strikes per minute with 46 per cent accuracy and absorbs 3.07 with 45 per cent defence. Saint Preux’s takedown average is 1.21 per 15 minutes with 38 per cent accuracy. His takedown defence is 66 per cent. A total of 12 of his wins are by KO/TKO, eight by submission and six by decision. Nine of his 16 loss are via the judges.

Saint Preux’s 11 stoppage victories in UFC light heavyweight competition are second most in divisional history. His five submission victories are tied for second most. Saint Preux’s four submission victories by Von Flue choke are the most in UFC history – there have only been seven total submission wins via that unique move.

At 6-foot-3, Saint Preux will have a two-inch height advantage on Rua as well as a four-inch reach edge.