To say Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is in for a challenge against Ovince St-Preux at UFC Fight Night 56 this weekend is an understatement. Rua is back in the main event and gets to fight in his home country again, but he’s back on a 2-3 run in his last five. Still, he has been here before and has always found a way to overcome all odds.

In contrast, OSP’s career holds a different pattern from that of the former UFC world champ. See, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight has accumulated winning streaks, lost, and went back on a winning streak, only to lose again and see the process repeat.

So what does St-Preux need to do? A look at any Rua fight will tell you that he does his best work up close and in the clinch. St-Preux knows better than to play that game, but he also knows fighting his fight against a man that has big fight experience comes easier said that done — unless a person has a long reach and can blend that in with a tremendous array of takedowns.

St-Preux possesses four inches of reach and gained experience at the University of Tennessee in wrestling, plus Rua has been taken down before, though never by a guy that puts their physical tools together like St-Preux does. “OSP” is in for the biggest fight of his career come UFN 56, and he will fight to make the most of the opportunity, but Rua makes everyone work. We will find out Saturday night if St-Preux can deliver when it counts.

About The Author

Dale De Souza
Staff Writer

Dale De Souza is a 22-year-old kid straight out of Texas, who grew up around Professional Wrestling but embraced the beauty of Mixed Martial Arts and Combat Sports at a young age. Dale is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA, a writer at The MMA Corner.