Ovince Saint Preux and UFC 282 apparently just don’t mix well together.
For the third time, Saint Preux has lost his opponent for Saturday’s event after Brazilian Antonio Trocoli withdrew from their light heavyweight bout in Las Vegas due to visa issues. A replacement opponent on six five days’ notice is being sought.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Monday following an initial report by MMA Fighting.
Saint Preux, 39, has experienced the worst luck trying to keep a fight together at UFC 282. He was originally supposed to meet former light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson. However, Gustafsson withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Philipe Lins.
Lins, however, withdrew Nov. 27 for undisclosed reasons. In his place stepped in promotional newcomer Trocoli, who is now out.
Across his most recent four bouts, Saint Preux (26-12 MMA, 16-12 UFC) is 2-2. He is one of the longest tenured members of the UFC roster as he nears his 10-year anniversary with the promotion.
The updated UFC 282 lineup includes:
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev – for vacant light heavyweight title
- Jared Gordon vs. Paddy Pimblett
- Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. opponent TBA
- Dricus Du Plessis vs. Darren Till
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Ilia Topuria
- Chris Daukaus vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Jay Perrin vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. opponent TBA
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Chris Curtis
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Billy Quarantillo
- TJ Brown vs. Erik Silva
- Daniel da Silva vs. Vinicius Salvador
- Steven Koslow vs. Cameron Saaiman
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.
