The light heavyweight division looks to have a resurgence in 2019 as yet another high-profile bout between ranked contenders will take place in the coming months. That, plus the UFC has introduced an additional fighter, and you can read my thoughts about each the news below in the current MMA odds and ends.
Ovince Saint-Preux vs. Misha Cirkunov, UFC 235
The UFC announced an interesting light heavyweight bout between top-15 ranked contenders Ovince Saint-Preux and Misha Cirkunov will happen at UFC 235, going down March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Saint-Preux (23-12) is 11-7 overall from the UFC and has settled in to the role of gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division. OSP lost a clear choice to Dominick Reyes his out his time, but he filed Tyson Pedro in remarkable fashion his struggle before that. He’s not far removed from a three-fight win streak that included a KO over Corey Anderson and Von Flue chokes against Yushin Okami and Marcos Rogerio de Lima, although that streak might prove to be the high point of his MMA career. The Reyes battle was clearly a step backwards, however, as was a submission defeat to Ilir Latifi who preceeded the Pedro win. OSP is a very solid gatekeeper, but his days as a title contender appear to be over.
Cirkunov (14-4) is 5-2 at the UFC and in his last expedition filed Patrick Cummins. He had been knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir and Glover Teixeira his two fights before this, but the triumph over Cummins place him back on track and reminded us why the Latvian-Canadian was this impressive prospect. Now that he’s living in Las Vegas, this is going to be a hometown fight of sorts for him. Although I am worried about Cirkunov’s chin allowing him down , I think he has what it takes to conquer OSP. I just find OSP such a bothersome fighter to predict how he is going to perform, while I believe Cirkunov is a bit more steady. I’d anticipate a competitive line, but with a slight lean towards the fighter in Cirkunov.
Craig White Cut, Signs With Cage Warriors
Former UFC welterweight Craig White has signed with Cage Warriors, the advertising announced. Of course, this means the UFC recently cut on him. White (14-9) had a tough go in the UFC after departing Cage Warriors as one of its top welterweight contenders. He made his Octagon introduction on very short notice and was completed by top-10 rated Neil Magny, cutting upwards of 30lbs to make weight. The UFC gave him a favorable matchup against Diego Sanchez in his next battle, but it did not go his way. Despite entering this bout as a significant favorite, White was dominated by an aging Sanchez and it was the kind of reduction that created the UFC wish to decrease ties with White. But he does have one saving grace here, and it is that Cage Warriors is on Fight Pass this past year. A couple of finishes for White and he could well be signed back into the UFC, however he may fare much better as a middleweight going forward. White’s competition because of his return to Cage Warriors hasn’t been announced yet, but he will struggle at Cage Warriors 102, which like UFC 235 additionally takes place March.
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