UFC Fight Night 47 Ryan Bader def. Ovince Saint Preux unanimous decision

On Saturday August 16, the UFC held UFC Fight Night 47: Bader vs. St.Preux from the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. In the night’s main event light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Ovince St.Preux battled to move up the light heavyweight hierarchy. Bader (17-4) came in riding a two fight winning streak with decision nods over Rafael Cavalcante and Anthony Perosh since his most recent loss a year ago to most recent light heavyweight title challenger, Glover Teixiera. St.Preux (16-5) got his first main event slot as a member of the UFC in only his fifth octagon appearance. St.Preux is unbeaten in his four fights with the promotion and has finished three straight opponents. Bader comes into the fight on a two-fight win streak, having earned unanimous decision victories over Anthony Perosh back in December and Rafael Cavalcante in June. In his last six fights, Bader is 4-2 with one Submission of the Night, but both losses by (T)KO. St. Preux is on a five-fight win streak, dating back to his final fight in Strikeforce and all four of his fights in the UFC. Four of his wins on this streak have been finishes, two knockouts and two submissions. Since 2010, St. Preux is 13-1, with the lone loss having come against the No. 7 ranked middleweight, Gegard Mousasi. The former title challenger had lost three of his last four bouts by TKO and had last stepped in the cage nine months ago against Nick Diaz. Before the recent rough patch, Maynard was unbeaten in his first ten bouts. As the fourth frame unfolded, it appeared Saint Preux had settled on looking to load up in hopes of landing one concussive blow on the feet. However, Bader simply avoided the big shots as they came in, slipping underneath the attempts and then bringing Saint Preux to the floor. Prior to the start of the final round, Saint Preux’s corner implored him to turn up the volume and push forward until the final bell. He responded by scoring an early takedown, though he couldn’t keep Bader on the floor. Once back on the feet, a few elbows sliced Bader open, but Saint Preux still couldn’t slow his opponent’s grind. The fight ended with Bader still looking for a takedown, and it was clear he had done enough to take home a decision win, and he was rewarded with scores of 48-47, 49-46, and 49-46.With the win, Bader (19-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) is now riding a three-fight winning streak.