Ovince St. Preux Shoots on UFC 171, Nikita Krylov and MMA Current Events
By Christopher Jester
Ovince St. Preux, or better known as OSP, is approaching his third fight in the UFC. This former Strikeforce veteran has transitioned well into the UFC and is preparing to take on the dangerous Nikita Krylov. In this exclusive interview with PunchDrunkGamer, the thirty-year-old Haitian-American discusses his upcoming bout, how his upbringing motivated him, the recent headlining subject of the TRT ban, and more. So, sit down and enjoy this in-depth interview with one of the top light-heavyweight fighters in the UFC!
PDG: You were originally supposed to fight Thiago Silva, and then it was changed to Nikita Krylov. How did your camp have to change as far as training?
OSP: Not much. Nikita is more of a stand-up guy. So not much ended up changing. The thing is that Thiago Silva is a black belt in BJJ and he has been in the UFC for a while. The thing about Nikita is that he fought at heavyweight and is dropping down to 205 to fight. He is not as experienced. He only has two fights in the UFC. Not too much change in training. We know that he kicks a lot, but so did Thiago. Although, Thiago was probably the better kickboxer and more powerful. Basically nothing really changed for the gameplan.
PDG: And where do you think you will have the greater advantage? As you pointed out, he has less experience than Thiago Silva but he has some good submission victories under his belt. What is your biggest challenge as you face this new opponent?
OSP: I think the biggest challenge is me. I watched his last fight against Walt Harris. It is just being mindful of his kicks. He does a good job setting up his kicks. He is long and he throws really good kicks. Walt actually blocked the head kick but it got around and jacked him up a little bit. That is my thing; just being mindful about that. But also Nikita has finished practically all of his fights. He has never had a fight that has gone to a decision. That is going to work out to my favor pretty good.
PDG: Like you said, you were expecting to fight Thiago who has been very close to title contention. Do you think taking on Nikita was somewhat of a downgrade for you?
OSP: Possibly. Nikita is a good fighter, regardless. My biggest thing was I still wanted to be on the main card. Regardless of whether it was a downgrade or not. He is one of the top fighters in the world. So there is no downgrade in that aspect.
PDG: What do you think makes you a dangerous opponent for anyone in the light-heavyweight division?
OSP: I am explosive. I have knockout power in my hands. I have been working a lot on my cardio. It actually is really, really good right now. I am well versed too. I have a standup game. I have a wrestling game. I have a good jiu-jitsu game and good jiu-jitsu defense.
PDG: Tell us about your earlier life. How did your upbringing help or motivate you into mixed martial arts?
OSP: Originally I am from Immokalee, Florida and it was small town where I was at. I was typically the underdog. For us it made us work hard because we did not have anything. Everything that we did we had to work for it. I learned that from playing football at my high school. Everybody from my hometown learned that we cannot take anything for granted. So it was my upbringing but also being Haitian-American. Both of my parents were born and raised in Haiti. They came to the states to give their kids a better education. It was my parents who instilled the hard work in me. My dad would always tell me when I wanted something I would have to go get it. When I was younger, I told my dad I needed some new shoes. He said, “Cool, no problem.” I woke up the next morning and he said, “You’re coming to work with me.” I had to work for my shoes. It is those things that keep me humble and let me know where I come from, where I have been, and where I can go. The opportunities are endless. Then hearing it from other people too. Like going to Atlanta for training and hearing Brian Stann saying, “I am looking at you right now and you don’t know how good you can be.” Hearing those things can motivate you. My coach tells me all the time that I can be the best in the world if I want to. The thing is the work ethic. As long as I keep pushing myself and doing what I am doing, I think I am going to get there.
PDG: Was it high school and college football that produced that work ethic and athletic skillset?
OSP: Oh yeah most definitely. We were top five program in the nation. The discipline and playing my position of linebacker. You definitely had to have discipline playing that position. If something doesn’t work the first time, it doesn’t mean that it won’t work the second or the third time. Mixed martial arts is a sport about discipline. There is a gameplan that you have to use within the fight. The gameplan may not work in the first round, but you have to keep on pushing. I tell everybody, the first round – everyone has a fighting chance. I don’t care who you are. You can be a world class athlete and this guy can be somewhat of a mediocre guy. The mediocre guy in the first round always thinks he is the best guy in the world. You see that in every type of sport: the first quarter, the first half. It is the same in mixed martial arts.
PDG: How close were you to having a professional football as a career option? And when did you decide that mixed martial arts was for you?
OSP: I was close. But maybe I did not get into it for a reason. Football did not work out for me, but it catapulted me into my mixed martial arts career. If I had went to the University of Miami, I might not be doing mixed martial arts right now. Things happen for a reason, at the University of Tennessee I did not get the playing time I wanted to but it wasn’t that football wasn’t for me. But after doing mixed martial arts I knew I could do fairly well with it.
PDG: Where do you think you must evolve in order to become a better mixed martial artist?
OSP: Not too concentrate on one thing. You got a lot of guys who have really good kickboxing. Or really good wrestling. My thing is to keep myself well-rounded within all aspects. I have to use my kickboxing to transition into wrestling. Using my wrestling to transition into jiu-jitsu. So it is about transitioning all three aspects together. Like I said I could use wrestling positions to set up submissions, or jiu-jitsu to setup a scramble and my kickboxing can be used to take somebody down.
PDG: You were in Strikeforce for a few years. How has it been transitioning over into the UFC? Were there any major changes?
OSP: There was not that many major changes. At the time Strikeforce was the number two organization right behind the UFC. When Zuffa took over Strikeforce, everything was about the same. Little things changed like UFC rules and guidelines. But that happened in the last two of my fights. After that, the transition into the UFC was really no big deal. A lot of the fighters have transitioned pretty good. A lot of them are doing well in the UFC.
PDG: In Strikeforce, you were well on your way into title contention. Now 2-0 in the UFC, what do you think you will have to do to get back into title contention?
OSP: In order to get to title contention, I have to keep doing what I am doing. In the UFC, as long as I am winning that is all that counts. I am going into my third fight in the UFC and I am already opening up the pay-per-view portion of the fight card. Which is a pretty good card. UFC 171 is actually pretty stacked. It makes people pay attention to me too because I am opening up the fights. I have to keep doing what I am doing. I have to keep winning in highlight fashion to get people talking about me. As long as I keep on winning I’ll be perfectly fine.
PDG: Onto some recent events in MMA. Gilbert Melendez got a new deal after tempting free agency. During that whole ordeal Bellator got a little attention out of it because they were the next option for him. How much do you think Bellator is actually competition to the UFC?
OSP: As of right now, not really. They do have a lot of good fighters. But as of right now, no. There are always going to be other organizations out there. The thing is, if Bellator was to sign Gilbert then the 155 weight class would have been stacked. But at the same time, the UFC knows how to make good business decisions. That is why every year they are the number one organization in the world. I am blessed to be fighting for them too. At the end of the day, that is why they have to do what they do.
PDG: Speaking of other recent events, what are your thoughts on the banning of TRT?
OSP: Honestly, with TRT and stuff, I don’t get in to it. I am training myself to be the best that I can. I just leave that alone. I don’t need it in my system, I don’t need anything like that. They say I can’t take it, so I don’t take it. That is point blank. If it is bad and they say it is so, then it is bad. There are plenty of supplements out there that always come out that are supposed to be the next best thing. Everybody says, “Ok, I am using it.” The next couple of months down the road, it gets banned. Every single year there is a new supplement that is introduced and then banned. This is going to continue to happen within sports. But at the same time, I know what to take and what not to take.
PDG: You have trained with a TRT user in Dan Henderson when you trained at Team Quest. Did you notice any difference in his abilities and his performance when he was on it?
OSP: Not really. I didn’t even know he was using it at the time. I didn’t notice anything. It was just one of things, where I trained with him and he has a really good right hand. He has a really good wrestling pedigree. I didn’t notice anything really. A lot of the fighters that do use it tend to be older though, which makes some sense. At the end of the day, it was legal but now it is illegal. I can’t be like “Aw, shucks” because I never used it before.
PDG: You mentioned earlier how blessed you were to be in the UFC. Where do you think you would be right now had MMA, and or football not have worked out?
OSP: I don’t know. I was always somewhat of a go-getter. If the sports had not worked out, I would have probably been in some type of law enforcement. Initially that is what I went to college for. That is what I wanted to do. Like I tell everybody, I love mixed martial arts but I kind of stumbled into it. After playing football, I wanted to keep myself in shape and I excelled throughout training in mixed martial arts and one thing lead to another. My coach asked me if I wanted to fight. At first I said no. For me, I thought these folks were too crazy but now I am one of the crazy folks.
PDG: And what are some of things you get into when you’re not in competition. Any video games, drinking, or other hobbies?
OSP: To be honest, I have a PlayStation 3 but I don’t really play video games. I watch movies more than anything. I don’t smoke, don’t drink very often. I am the occasional drinker, I would say that I probably drink three or four times a year at max. That is me catching a buzz and that is it. But other than that, I just try to keep my body as healthy as possible. The healthier I keep my body year round, the better it is; the better I can perform. I use to rely on my athletics to get me through a fight but now if I diet throughout the week, I train harder. So when fight time comes around, everything is clicking on all cylinders.
PDG: We’re still in the first quarter of the new year, so what were your New Year’s resolutions as far as mixed martial arts goes?
OSP: My biggest resolution was to recommit. With every sport, you have to commit yourself. You naturally slack off. So, my New Year’s resolution was to recommit. I just told myself I need to recommit and I did that. I put everything in perspective and that was my primary goal.
PDG: Thanks for taking the time for the interview. Would you like to add anything to your fans? Shoutout to sponsors?
OSP: My fans can catch me on Twitter @003_OSP. That is the same username for my Instagram. Also, check out my Facebook fan page. I want to give a shout out to Immokalee, Florida. I want to give a shoutout to University of Tennessee football. I want to give a shoutout to my gym. I want to give a shoutout to my frats Omega Psi Phi fraternity and I got to give a shoutout to the Haitian people too because they show me a tremendous amount of love.
Follow Christopher “sLapDatSuCKa” Jester on Twitter @sLapDatSuCka
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I town in da house 239 all day ,,,,,,immokalee repin