Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs. Ovince Saint Preux rematch targeted for UFC 274

Mauricio Rua and Ovince Saint Preux are expected to face each other once again more than seven years after their first encounter.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the light heavyweight rematch is targeted to take place at UFC 274, which is set for May 7 at a location and venue yet to be announced. Ag. Fight was first to report the booking.

Verbal agreements are in place for the rematch with contracts expected to be signed soon.

Rua and Saint Preux first met at UFC Fight Night 56 in November 2014. “OSP” picked up the biggest win of his career to that point with a 34-second TKO win over the former world champion.

The 40-year-old Rua is 5-2-1 over his last eight appearances, which includes stoppage wins over Gian Villante and Tyson Pedro. In his most recent bout, Rua was stopped in the second round by Paul Craig at UFC 255 in November 2020.

Saint Preux will look to bounce back after suffering TKO losses to Tanner Boser and Jamahal Hill. Prior to that, the 38-year-old delivered a vicious knockout to Alonzo Menifield in September 2020.

UFC 274 will feature a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, along with a light heavyweight championship bout between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Procházka.

Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.