http://mmajunkie.com/news/24538/strikeforce-prospect-ovince-st-preux-i-just-think-its-my-time.mmaLess than two years ago, Strikeforce light heavyweight Ovince St. Preux (11-4 MMA, 5-0 SF) was an unknown commodity with a losing record looking to rebound from back-to-back defeats.
Now, he's one of the brightest young stars in the promotion and has openly challenged the likes of former Strikeforce champions Gegard Mousasi and Renato "Bablu" Sobral.
Following his eighth-consecutive victory, the 28-year-old former collegiate linebacker said he remembers the moment things turned around.
"The last guy I lost to was Virgil (Zwicker)," St. Preux said. "That's one of my really good friends now. I think after that fight, I kind of had a little epiphany. I was like, 'OK, I need to change something.' I started changing."
And change he did.
He returned to action in February 2010 with a 75-second TKO finish of a more-experienced Brett Chism. Then came his break – a 47-second destruction of Chris Hawk on the preliminary card of the April 2010 "Strikeforce: Nashville" event. The performance caught the attention of Strikeforce brass, who brought St. Preux back two more times in 2010, and he responded with wins over Benji Radach and Antwain Britt.
He also racked up victories over Jason Day and Claudio Godoi in regional-circuit action. When the year was over, he was 6-0 for 2010.
"In 2010, I was telling myself, 'I need to find easy fights.'" St. Preux admitted. "That didn't happen. All of my fights in 2010 were pretty hard fights."
St. Preux has continued the run thus far in 2011, taking a decision over Ron "Abongo" Humphrey in January before stopping Joe Cason in just 72 seconds at Friday night's Strikeforce Challengers 17 event.
The rapid-fire stoppage began when St. Preux threw a kick to the body, and his knee struck the head of a shooting Cason.
"It's just one of those things," St. Preux told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "A lot of times when I throw my kicks, I will throw my knee at the target. I was going for a bodyshot, and his head just happened to slip to the side. I hit him in the body and clipped his head. Then I kind of rushed in and caught him with a couple of good shots and finished the fight."
Of course, even with less than three years of professional experience, St. Preux didn't rush forward with reckless abandon. There would be no Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry moment.
"Typically, when people rush in, they'll have their hands out," St. Preux said. "I kind of rushed in with my hands up. That's one of the biggest things I make sure I do because he can still be right there and throw an overhand and it probably would have connected on me."
The victory brought the Las Vegas crowd to a fever-pitch and brought St. Preux's impressive win streak to eight-straight fights. Following the result, the typically humble St. Preux called out Mousasi and Sobral by name.
At the evening's post-event press conference, he insisted there was no disrespect intended. Instead, this was simply a chance to answer a challenger he admits he wasn't ready for just a few short months ago.
"To be quite honest, back in April when Gegard fought, [Strikeforce brass] called me and asked if I wanted to fight," St. Preux said. "I was thinking about it. I was like, 'Should I do it?' I kind of backed off because I had been kind of laying out.
"I mean, those two guys I think I can take. The way I'm feeling right now, I think I can probably take anybody."
With 79 career fights between them, both Mousasi and Sobral could each provide a stern measuring stick for St. Preux. But with three "Challengers Series" wins and a pair of "Arena Series" victories already under his belt, St. Preux appears the perfect candidate to test his standing in Strikeforce's light heavyweight division.
"I think I kind of showed myself," St. Preux said. "Anytime somebody asks me to do something, I do it. I just think it's my time, so I'm calling out a couple of people."
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