SIX QUESTIONS WITH FORMER UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOOTBALL PLAYER AND CURRENT PRO MMA FIGHTER OVINCE SAINT PREUX

Posted on | April 14, 2010 | No Comments

NASHVILLE, Tenn., (April 14, 2010) – Former University of Tennessee linebacker Ovince Saint Preux made Mixed Martial Arts history by recording the first knockout in the state of Tennessee’s first sanctioned MMA fight in 2009. He’ll look to keep his MMA career on the upswing this Saturday night when he competes at the STRIKEFORCE Nashville: Henderson vs. Shields event here at Bridgestone Arena.

Doors at Bridgestone Arena will open at 6:30 CT. The first preliminary bout will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Bridgestone Arena ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and STRIKEFORCE’S official website (www.strikeforce.com).

Saint Preux (4-4), of Knoxville, who will take on Chris Hawk (3-3) of Memphis in one of seven undercard fights, is a 6-foot-3, 26-year-old who played for the Vols from 2001-2004. After graduating with a degree in Sociology in ’04, he became heavily involved in MMA, utilizing his impressive wrestling skills and natural athletic abilities. He competed in Tennessee’s first sanctioned MMA event on Feb. 20, 2009.

In a 2009 Sports Illustrated poll, Saint Preux, who fights out of Knoxville MMA, finished second for best submission of the year after making Ombey Mobley surrender from a slick pressure submission known as a “calf-slicer” on April 25 in Knoxville.

Question: How tough has the transition been from football to MMA?

Saint Preux: “The biggest thing for me was just learning all the different disciplines and at times it’s been kind of frustrating. I’ve played football my entire life and so I would get mad at first when I wouldn’t get something right away. But I just shrugged my shoulders and knew it would all come together over time and that eventually I’d be pretty good at it.”

Question: Your record is 4-4. What do you attribute to your four losses so early in your pro career?

Saint Preux: “I’ve fought some tough guys. Usually when you start out in this sport you don’t fight guys as tough as the ones I did. When I first started I really didn’t care who I fought. Looking back I probably should have won all of those fights I lost. I think it came down to my cardio. But I’ve learned from each of those losses. I’m not mad I got those losses. I’m actually happy because I learned so much from it. My career is young and I’ll only come back stronger.”

Question: You fought on the first professional MMA card ever in Tennessee. What was that like?

Saint Preux: “A lot of people in Knoxville know my name and they had watched me play football but had never seen me fight. I thought if I lost I would never hear the end of it (He recorded a one-kick knockout of light heavyweight CT Turner). I’m proud to say I have the first knockout in the history of fighting in the state of Tennessee.”

Question: Which is a bigger rush for you, running out of the tunnel before a football game or hearing your name announced before you enter the cage?

Saint Preux: “Well, the University of Tennessee has one of the biggest stadiums so to hear 100,000 cheering is quite a rush. The thing at UT is you’re running out there with 80 or 90 other players so it makes you feel better. Everybody’s not just watching you but all the others on the football team. As far as MMA goes, there are going to be a lot of fans in Nashville and it’s going to be loud. I’ll be able to feel it in my gut. I’m just going to have to take a deep breath and take it all in because not too many people get to experience what I get to experience.’’

Question: Herschel Walker will be in Nashville to watch the fight. Did you watch his last fight on SHOWTIME?

Saint Preux: “Yeah, I did. He looked real, real good. And he was in great shape, too. My hat’s off to him. He did a great job. This could start a trend, you never know. There have been other football players who have tried to cross over and do MMA and it hasn’t gone so well for them, but the discipline aspect is there. As far as learning the stuff it’s there.”

Question: What do you know about your opponent, Chris Hawk?

Saint Preux: “I heard he trains at a pretty good Jiu-Jitsu and judo school. The other thing I found out about him is that he fought on WCL (World Combat League) so he must be a pretty good stand-up guy. He’s a good athlete and he’s pretty strong. I’m going to have my hands full. Whether I win or lose I know it’s going to be a good show because I’m all about putting on a good show.”

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.