If you told UFC light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux in high school or college that he would be one of the most experienced UFC fighters in history, he would have laughed at you. Born to Haitian immigrants, OSP was once hailed as the best football player in his state and showed promise of a career in the NFL.

However, despite continuing his stellar form in college and earning an impressive two varsity letters, he was unable to realize his NFL dreams. Thankfully, OSP had another skill he had been honing that would make sure he still became a professional athlete after all.

How many times has Ovince Saint Preux lost in the UFC?

Since joining the promotion over a decade ago, Ovince Saint Preux has fought nearly thirty times in the UFC. However, the Tennessee native has not had much success and holds a mixed record of 15-12 in the MMA juggernaut. To be fair to the 41-year-old, he has fought some of the biggest names in the light heavyweight division, especially in the last decade.

After all, the Preux has faced 205-pound champs like Glover Teixeira, Jamahal Hill, and Jon Jones (whom he fought for the vacant 205-pound title in 2016). In addition, OSP has lost at regular intervals to veterans and promising fighters who would go on to be the top-ranked guys in the division. This included guys like Dominick Reyes, Ryan Bader, and Volkan Oezedmir. However, what hurt his career and saw him go on a downward turn was his losses to often younger, up-and-coming opponents. Right after his first and only title shot against Jones in 2016, Preux would be knocked out by Jimi Manuwa in the second round of their UFC 204 clash.

The very next year, Preux would face another quick submission at the hands of Nikita Krylov on UFC 236. Thankfully, OSP would bounce back with a memorable Von Fluke choke win over Michael Olekseijczuk, only for Preux to lose a close split decision to Ben Rothwell in his next fight.

Since 2021, the Florida native has fought four times and lost two of those bouts. Preux fought fellow journeyman Tanner Bose in the co-main event of a Fight Night card in June 2021, suffering a knockout loss to the Canadian in the second round. Preux’s most recent loss came in a similar humiliating fashion, getting knocked out by Philipe Lins in the very first minute of the first round of their Fight Night clash in February 2023. But what about his losses outside the UFC?

A closer look at OSP’s MMA career outside the UFC

The long-time UFC veteran had a rather unfortunate start to his professional career. To be fair, he had a stellar, five-fight undefeated amateur career before taking the plunge and going pro in 2008. In his first two pro fights, OSP suffered two back-to-back decision losses- to Rodney Wallace on debut at VFC 1 and Ray Lizama three months later.

After a string of losses, Saint Preux mounted a strong comeback in 2009, securing two consecutive victories via finishes. However, he lost his next bout via unanimous decision to Nik Fekete in early September of the same year. Just weeks later, OSP faced a devastating setback as he suffered his first-ever knockout loss to Virgil Zwicker at the inaugural TCC card.

Despite a slow start, Preux embarked on an impressive eight-fight tear including five victories by knockout. His dominance continued until he faced future Bellator champ Gegard Mousassi on a Strikeforce card in December 2011. Following the UFC’s acquisition of Strikeforce that same year, OSP joined the world’s premier MMA company in 2013. What do you think about Ovince Saint Preux’s MMA career so far?