The light heavyweight division looks to have a resurgence in 2019 as yet another high profile bout between ranked contenders will take place in the forthcoming months. That, and the UFC has introduced another fighter, and you can read my thoughts about each of the news below in the current MMA odds and ends.
Ovince Saint-Preux vs. Misha Cirkunov, UFC 235
The UFC declared an interesting light heavyweight bout between top-15 rated contenders Ovince Saint-Preux and Misha Cirkunov will take place at UFC 235, heading down March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Saint-Preux (23-12) is 11-7 overall from the UFC and has settled in to the role of gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division. OSP lost a clear decision to Dominick Reyes his out his time, but he submitted Tyson Pedro in impressive fashion his struggle before that. He’s not much removed from a three-fight win streak that included a KO over Corey Anderson and Von Flue chokes against Yushin Okami and Marcos Rogerio de Lima, though that streak may prove to be the high point of his MMA career. The Reyes battle was clearly a step backward, though, as was a submission defeat to Ilir Latifi that preceeded the Pedro win. OSP is a really solid gatekeeper, but his days as a title contender seem to be over.
Cirkunov (14-4) is 5-2 at the UFC and in his last expedition filed Patrick Cummins. He had been knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir and Glover Teixeira his two fights before this, but the triumph over Cummins put him back on track and reminded us all why the Latvian-Canadian was this impressive prospect. Now that he is living in Las Vegas, this is going to be a hometown fight of sorts for him. Although I’m worried about Cirkunov’s chin allowing him down , I think he has what it takes to conquer OSP. I just find OSP such a frustrating fighter to forecast how he’s going to perform, while I believe Cirkunov is a bit more steady. I’d expect a competitive lineup, but with a slight lean towards the younger fighter in Cirkunov.
Craig White Cut, Signs With Cage Warriors
Former UFC welterweight Craig White has signed back with Cage Warriors, the advertising announced. Of course, this usually means the UFC lately cut on him. White (14-9) had a tough go in the UFC after leaving Cage Warriors as one of its top welterweight contenders. He made his Octagon debut on very short notice and has been finished by top-10 ranked Neil Magny, cutting upwards of 30lbs to make weight. The UFC gave him a favorable matchup against Diego Sanchez in his second battle, but it did not go his way. Despite entering this bout as a significant favorite, White was dominated by an aging Sanchez also it was the type of reduction that made the UFC wish to cut ties with White. But he does have one saving grace here, and it’s that Cage Warriors is on Fight Pass this past year. A couple of finishes for White and he could well be signed back into the UFC, however he can fare much better as a middleweight going forward. White’s opponent for his return to Cage Warriors has not been declared yet, but he will struggle at Cage Warriors 102, which like UFC 235 additionally takes place March.
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