UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (1/15-1/21): Ovince Saint Preux Returns For 27th UFC Fight, Three Cancellations

MMA News has you covered with this week's UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring a fight for light heavyweight veteran Ovince Saint Preux.

With UFC cards being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

In recent days, a couple of big-name fights were made official by the UFC. For more information on those matchups, check out the links below:

• Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway - UFC 300 (April 13)
• Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller - UFC 300 (April 13)

Elsewhere, a number of of lower-profile matchups came together. For those, check out this week’s quick hits:

• Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera - UFC 298 (February 17)
• Julia Polastri vs. Josefine Knutsson - UFC Vegas 87 (March 2)
• Chad Anheliger vs. Charalampos Grigoriou - UFC Vegas 88 (March 16)
• Billy Quarantillo vs. Gabriel Miranda - UFC Vegas 89 (March 23)
• Mohammed Usman vs. Chris Barnett - UFC Vegas 89 (March 23)
• Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Sedriques Dumas - UFC Atlantic City (March 30)
• Ibo Aslan vs. Anton Turkalj - UFC Atlantic City (March 30)
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Piera Rodriguez - UFC Vegas 90 (April 6)
• Cesar Almeida vs. Josh Fremd - UFC Vegas 90 (April 6)
• SeungWoo Choi vs. Morgan Charrière - UFC Vegas 90 (April 6)
• Ariane Lipski vs. Karine Silva - UFC Event TBA (April 27)
• James Llontop vs. Lando Vannata - UFC Event TBA (April 27)
• Maheshate vs. Anshul Jubli - UFC Event TBA (April 27)

But it wasn’t all positive, with three fights falling through or being adjusted in recent days. For those failed pairings and the confirmed replacements, see the list below:

• Lerone Murphy (OUT, Andre Fili IN) vs. Dan Ige - UFC Vegas 86 (February 10)
• Tatiana Suarez (OUT, Mackenzie Dern IN) vs. Amanda Lemos - UFC 298 (February 17)
• Ikram Aliskerov (OUT, Roman Kopylov IN) vs. Anthony Hernandez - UFC 298 (February 17)

And for more detailed information on a notable fight that may have flown under your radar between January 15 and January 21, scroll down and check out this week’s UFC Matchmaking Bulletin spotlighted fight.

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Ovince Saint Preux - UFC Vegas 88 (March 16)

Light heavyweight veteran Ovince Saint Preux will look to show that he can still hang with the division's prospects against Kennedy Nzechukwu in March.

40-year-old Saint Preux (26-17) has competed under the UFC banner 26 times, defeating the likes of Nikita Krylov, Maurício Rua, and Corey Anderson during his lengthy tenure in the organization. But "OSP" has had a difficult time of it in recent years, falling to knockouts against Jamahal Hill, Tanner Boser, and Philipe Lins.

In his return from a 13-month layoff, Saint Preux is tasked with adding to the woes of a man nine years his younger in Nzechukwu (12-4). "African Savage" showed promise throughout a three-fight winning run that saw him finish Karl Roberson, Ion Cuțelaba, and Devin Clark. Last time out at UFC Nashville in August 2023, however, the Nigerian was violently stopped by Dustin Jacoby.

This light heavyweight fight was first reported by MMA Junkie's Nolan King.