I've frequently questioned the matchmaking decisions on Strikeforce's Challengers shows, so let me praise an example of matchmaking done right: Strikeforce announced Friday that Ovince St. Preux will take on Antwain Britt on the November 19 Challengers card.
This is an exciting fight that works as a good challenge for both St. Preux and Britt at this stage in their respective careers, and a great showcase for the winner.
St. Preux played linebacker at the University of Tennessee, and he's a great all-around athlete who was a track and wrestling star in high school. He's still learning MMA after just taking up the sport a couple years ago, but he's coming off an eight-second knockout of UFC veteran Jason Day in his last fight (video above), and he's also well-known to hard-core MMA fans for the outstanding calf slicer submission he pulled off in a 2009 fight.
Like St. Preux, Britt has knockout power in his hands, although he's bouncing back from a loss to Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael Cavalcante in his last fight. Britt wasn't quite ready for a striker of Cavalcante's skill, but St. Preux is the right level of opponent for him coming off a loss.
The Britt-St. Preux fight has been added to a card that already featured Vitor Ribeiro vs. Justin Wilcox, as well as the return of Ryan Couture against an opponent to be named later.
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