Just a couple of weeks shy of his bout at UFC 282 and light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux is getting his second opponent change for the card.
Originally paired up against Alexander Gustafsson, ‘OSP’ saw that booking fall through for undisclosed reasons. The 39-year-old was briefly set to take on Phillipe Lins instead, until MMA Junkie reported that the Brazilian had also left the card on unknown circumstances.
Now, Saint Preux is expected to take on a promotion newcomer in Brazil’s Antonio Trocoli, who has three wins and one No Contest in his last four outings in the regional circuit. The overturned bout took place on DWCS (Dana White’s Contender Series), where ‘Malvado’ originally picked up a submission win over Kenneth Bergh—back in July 2019.
Although the first-round win had earned Trocoli a contract with the UFC, a positive USADA test for banned substance Nandrolone put an end to his deal before the 31-year-old could even debut in the Octagon. Nonetheless, with his suspension finished and another victory on the regionals, he’ll now have a second chance to start his UFC career.
In his last outing, back in May, Saint Preux (26-16) re-matched former champion Mauricio Rua and scored a split decision. The loss snapped a two-fight losing skid for the Knoxville Martial Arts Academy talent, with knockout losses to both Tanner Boser and Jamahal Hill.
OSP is expected to take on Trocoli on December 10 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight for the recently vacated belt, between former champion Jan Blachowicz and rising prospect Magomed Ankalaev.
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