Preview: UFC on Fox 28 ‘Emmett vs. Stephens’

Light Heavywight

Ilir Latifi (13-5) vs. Ovince St. Preux (22-10)

ODDS: St. Preux (-115), Latifi (-105)

ANALYSIS: This fight was originally scheduled to take place a month ago at UFC on Fox 27, but fortunately for both Latifi and St. Preux, it was reminted for this particular card, meaning neither light heavyweight needed to sacrifice a main card slot and whatever mainstream exposure may come with it.

Obviously, what stands out first and foremost is the physical disparity. Both men are visually and practically impressive athletes. The 34-year-old St. Preux was a linebacker at the University of Tennessee, while “The Sledgehammer” is built like a brick s---house. However, at 6-foot-3, “OSP” is at least five inches taller than Latifi, who is generously listed at 5-foot-10; St. Preux will also enjoy a seven-inch reach advantage over his fireplug opponent. The difference in stature is compounded by the fact that St. Preux fights long and tall and likes to preserve distance with his arms extended, while Latifi, also 34, has a compact, crouching boxing style and keeps his hands in tight.

Interestingly, both men decided to take their training camps on tour for this particular fight. Latifi, a Sweden-based Albanian, typically works out of the Allstars Training Center in Stockholm but opted to relocate to Florida to train at Fight Sports Miami for this bout, working alongside former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and middleweight contender Antonio Carlos Jr.. Meanwhile, St. Preux left his base at Knoxville MMA in Tennessee to tour west coast gyms for the contest, hitting up the likes of Alliance MMA and HB Ultimate.

The quality of training that both men have received may be formative in this case, but it seems unlikely that their preparations will have changed the general qualities of their fight styles. The southpaw St. Preux is still going to stick his lead hand out and look to preserve distance while crushing Latifi’s head, body and legs with vicious kicks and looking to set up lunging left hands. Should the bout hit the floor, look for his trademark Von Flue choke, which he has effectively repossessed from its namesake, Jason Von Flue. Latifi, though capable of fighting in either stance, is going to likely fight orthodox, throw his right-handed bombs and look to shoot power double-leg takedowns.

Latifi is an outstanding wrestler and has great control on the mat. Frankly, St. Preux can get sloppy sometimes, absorbing flailing strikes or walking straight into takedowns: Glover Teixeira took him down five times and Corey Anderson four times, despite “OSP” winning the latter bout. However, there may be a nasty style dynamic built into this contest, as Latifi absorbs a ton of kicks, whether it is Jan Blachowicz stopping him with one to the guts or Tyson Pedro peppering him with them, even in defeat. On top of that, southpaw kicking offense, when executed well, has a propensity to be kryptonite for orthodox fighters. In this case, that may be exacerbated by the fact that Latifi typically tries to catch his opponents’ kicks in order to drive them to the mat. That may prove fatal here. Look for St. Preux to work all three levels of Latifi’s squat body and use his feet to knock out “The Sledgehammer” inside of 10 minutes.

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