LHW contenders collide at #UFC235! @003_OSP battles @MishaC911!
https://t.co/3H0s6OHr2j pic.twitter.com/OiUL1k2Ekp
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) January 3, 2019
A battle between light heavyweight contenders is now set for UFC 235, when Ovince St. Preux meets Misha Cirkunov in Las Vegas.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Thursday that St. Preux (23-12) will face Cirkunov (14-1) at the T-Mobile Arena on March 2.
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger St. Preux has had a tumultuous UFC career to date. Prior to his most recent loss, by decision to Dominick Reyes, St. Preux became the first man to finish Tyson Pedro back at UFC Fight Night 132. In doing so, he pulled off a straight armbar — a submission only seen eight times in company history and just the second at light heavyweight, after Ricardo Romero tapped Seth Petruzelli with one at UFC 116 in 2010. He holds the unusual distinction of being the only fighter in UFC history to put multiple fighters to sleep with chokes (Nikita Krylov and Yushin Okami) and also get put to sleep multiple times by chokes (Glover Teixeira and Ilir Latifi).
Canada’s Cirkunov has never gone the distance in his seven-fight UFC career, with five finish victories including four submissions. Most recently, he became the first man to submit Patrick Cummins last October at UFC Fight Night 138. The bout will only be his third in the U.S., first competing in Georgia back in 2012 and then later in Las Vegas in 2016.
UFC 235 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 2. No headliner has yet been announced, but matchups already on the card include a welterweight tilt of Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren and a featherweight thriller between Jeremy Stephens vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov.