Fighter forced out of card two days before UFC Vegas 97, loses opportunity to tie Glover Teixeira's record
The UFC Vegas 97 fight card has suffered a setback. With the event right around the corner, the promotion recently announced that Ovince Saint Preux had been forced to withdraw from his light heavyweight bout against Ryan Spann due to illness.
As a result, the bout has reportedly been scrapped, and the UFC Vegas 97 card is expected to continue with a 12-fight lineup. Saint Preux was coming off a split-decision win over Kennedy Nzechuku at UFC Vegas 88 earlier this year. This bout would've been the 41-year-old's 26th outing at 205 pounds, the most appearances in divisional history.
Intriguingly, 'OSP' could have also had the opportunity to match former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira's record for second-most victories (16) in divisional history. Jon Jones holds the record for highest number of wins in the 205-pound division with 20 victories.
Intriguingly, Saint Preux holds the UFC's record for most submissions via the Von Flue choke (4) and has the second most stoppage victories (11) in light heavyweight history, just behind Teixeira (13).
Robert Whittaker predicts UFC Vegas 97 main event bout between Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady
Robert Whittaker recently shared his prediction for the Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady fight, that headlines the UFC Vegas 97 fight card this weekend. The former middleweight champion backed Burns to bounce back from two consecutive losses and beat Brady in an upset victory.
During an episode of the MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker recalled Burns' performance against Jack Della Maddalena in his last fight at UFC 299 and noted that the Brazilian was winning the fight before suffering a dramatic KO loss in the third round. He continued:
"He’s [Burns] been better than we saw in that fight, so I’m curious to see how that lines up against Brady, who, historically, has been pretty good, but Gilbert hits like a truck... I think Gilbert Burns is one of the best MMA grapplers of all time, he’s phenomenal at grappling, period – but in terms of MMA grappling, he’s one of the best of all time." [H/t: Bloody Elbow]
Check out the full episode below: