Light heavyweight veteran Ovince St. Preux (25-14, 12 KOs, 8 SUBs) will meet undefeated prospect Jamahal Hill (7-0, 3 KOs) at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Vettori on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 205-pound tilt supports a main event featuring No. 4 middleweight contender Jack Hermansson (21-5, 11 KOs, 6 SUBs) and the rising Marvin Vettori (15-4, 2 KOs, 9 SUBs). The card airs live on ESPN starting 5pm ET. Let’s take a look at the St. Preux vs. Hill odds and break down your best options in the UFC online sportsbook.
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Ovince St. Preux (25-14, 12 KOs, 8 SUBs)
There aren’t many light heavyweights that possess OSP’s UFC experience - the Knoxville native will make his 23rd octagon appearance when he steps into the cage this Saturday. That St. Preux is still chugging is an accomplishment in itself, as you gotta be pretty damn good to stick around the world’s top MMA organization for that long. At 37 years old, he’s nearing the end of a productive career, and OSP can be proud of the fact that he earned the right to fight the likes of Ryan Bader, Shogun Rua, Glover Teixeira, Gegard Mousasi and the GOAT himself, Jon Jones - in an interim title shot no less. Though he’s 2-3 in his past five, St. Preux reminded everybody that he’s still got something left when he knocked out Alonzi Menifield with a single punch in his last outing.
It’s fair to say that OSP is physically diminishing, leading to a dip in his skills across the board. He’ll always be a big, powerful light heavyweight, but he’s nowhere near the athlete he used to be and his gas tank seems to come and go. Still, opponents need to respect his killshot power - particularly that left high kick. They need to be even more wary of his submission game, as OSP is a lethal, opportunistic grappler who has choked out fighters before they even knew what was happening.
Jamahal Hill (7-0, 3 KOs)
You might be wondering who the heck this guy is. Hill worked his way through the regional scene before landing a spot in Dana White’s Contender Series and scoring a second-round knock. Ticket, punched. Hill rewarded the brass with a solid decision win over Darko Stosic. Then the 29-year old scored a spectacular flying knee finish over Klidson Abreu, turning a lot of heads in the process. Unfortunately, the win was overturned as Hill later tested positive for marijuana (yes, weed is still not allowed for whatever reason). At least he didn’t pop hot for PEDs, right?
Hill is an excellent prospect in a division in sore need of fresh blood. He’s a long, rangy striker who is fully confident in his ability to fight at long range. Stosic was simply unable to figure out how to get within the 6'4" Hill’s range and mount any sort of effective offense. Though he’s still young in his career, Hill’s length and athleticism can make up for some of that inexperience.
If he can score a win over a well-regarded name like OSP, Hill can quickly vault up the rankings. The question here is whether he’s biting off too much, too soon - St. Preux has about 5 times as many pro fights as Hill.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: St. Preux 2.64 / Hill 7.90
Striking accuracy: St. Preux 46% / Hill 52%
Strikes absorbed per minute: St. Preux 2.88 / Hill 2.81
Striking defense: St. Preux 45% / Hill 48%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: St. Preux 1.23 / Hill 0
Takedown accuracy: St. Preux 40% / Hill 0
Takedown defense: St. Preux 66% / Hill 53%
Submissions per 15 minutes: 0.6 / Hill 0
UFC Picks
We love taking experienced vets over hyped prospects. In this case, you can get an excellent price on St. Preux, who has a clear advantage when it comes to grappling. On the feet, he might have some issues but we don’t expect him to be lost against the younger Hill. Expect OSP to drag this to the ground at some point and pile up enough control to take the win. If you’re feeling really lucky, look into OSP to win by submission, as he could expose the untested Hill on the ground.
UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Vettori Card & Odds
Middleweight - Jack Hermansson +121 vs. Marvin Vettori -146
Heavyweight - Jake Collier +165 vs. Gian Villante -201
Women’s Strawweight - Montana De La Rosa +184 vs. Talia Santos -225
Bantamweight - Cody Durden +138 vs. Jimmy Flick -166
Light Heavyweight - John Allan Arte +165 vs. Roman Dolidze -201
Featherweight - Damon Jackson +210 vs. Ilia Topuria -259
Light Heavyweight - Ovince St. Preux +138 vs. Jamahal Hill -166
Featherweight - Nate Landwehr +480 vs. Movsar Evloev -678
Bantamweight - Jose Quinonez +123 vs. Louis Smolka -147
Featherweight - Justin Jaynes +177 vs. Gabriel Benitez -215
Lightweight - Matt Wiman +303 vs. Jordan Leavitt -390
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