Even Ovince St. Preux couldn’t believe how quickly he stopped Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 56 on Saturday.
At the 34-second mark at the Uberlandia, Brazil event, St. Preux struck Rua with a left hand that floored the former light heavyweight champion to the ground. A few ground-and-pound punches later, the main event was over.
“I thought I could win this on my feet. It’s bad to be aggressive against me,” St. Preux said at the post-fight press conference. “I was a little surprised. When I landed the overhand, I said I might as well finish the fight. I was surprised.”
The quick finish once again brought whispers that Rua should consider retirement after dropping his record in main events to 2-6.
“I don’t think he was slow at all,” St. Preux said. “The thing about me is that I’m super explosive and I can take you to the ground super quickly. I think he mistook my reach so I was able to catch him. I don’t think he’s slow, he still have it. He hit me with a couple of good leg kicks.”
