Ovince Saint Preux has put away a lot of opponents so it wasn’t a surprise to him at all when Alonzo Menifield fell at his hands.
The two met in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 9 light heavyweight co-main event and “OSP” controlled much of the fight before putting Menifield down for good with a devastating counter left in round two. It was the 11th win by knockout or submission of Saint Preux’s UFC career, putting him into a tie with Glover Teixeira for the most finishes at 205 pounds in the history of the organization.
Breaking down the KO with the media following his fight, Saint Preux explained how a mistake by Menifield made him vulnerable to the finishing blow.
“I generate a lot of power regardless,” Saint Preux said. “I’ve got power in my hands, I’ve got power in my feet. At the same time from that position I see everything coming. Alonzo’s a power puncher and he over-committed.
“When he over-committed and left himself open, his chin was just staring right at me and I just landed perfectly. It’s kind of like the same thing that happened when I fought Shogun.”
Saint Preux referenced his knockout of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, which took place at a UFC Fight Night in Uberlandia, Brazil, six years ago. He connected with a similar left hand on the former UFC champion that ended their fight in just 34 seconds.
Of his 11 UFC finishes, five have come by way of knockout and six by submission. Saint Preux, 37, has been so prolific in this regard that his four Von Flue choke submissions have convinced some fans to rename the maneuver the “Von Preux.”
Given his history of highlights, it’s understandable that his win over Menifield falls just short of making the top of his list. Off the top of his head, Saint Preux mentioned the Shogun win, his head kick knockout of Corey Anderson, and his Von Preux choke finish of Yushin Okami as his personal favorites.
“I would have to say the best finish of my career, the top-two finishes is either Shogun and—I’m a give three,” Saint Preux said. “Shogun, Madison Square Garden with Corey Anderson, and Saitama Super Arena with Yushin Okami. Just because when you talk about when I first started fighting I used to watch all the PRIDE fights and every time we used to talk about the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo and that’s the biggest thing.
“And when you come to the States, Madison Square Garden, ‘Cinderella Man,’ that’s what you think about. And Shogun being a legend in the sport and stuff, yeah.”
Saturday’s finish earned Saint Preux a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, the eighth of his UFC career (that achievement moved him into a tie with Rua and Jon Jones for the most bonuses earned by a light heavyweight). That’s another feather in the cap of the longtime contender.
Saint Preux shrugged off a question concerning how meaningful his accolades are to him, though he does get a kick out of knowing that he holds a prominent place in the UFC’s record books.
“To be honest, it don’t mean anything to me, but at the same time it lets you know that when you talk about the light heavyweight division, when you put my name in there, you’re gonna be like, ‘Wow. Ovince got all these stats for real,’” Saint Preux said. “I really don’t think about it either, but it’s cool having the most finishes in the light heavyweight division.”
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