Ovince Saint Preux vs. Philipe Lins booked for UFC Fight Night in February

For the third time in just over two years, Ovince Saint Preux and Philipe Lins have agreed to face one another in the octagon. The light heavyweight bout is reportedly set for UFC Fight Night 219 in February 2023.

Ovince Saint Preux and Philipe Lins were originally set to meet at UFC Fight Night 197 in November 2021. However, the former was forced to withdraw from the event for undisclosed reasons.

Following the withdrawal of the former light heavyweight title challenger, Lins was unable to find an opponent, and the bout was ultimately canceled with neither fighter appearing on the card.

The pair once again agreed to meet at UFC 282 in December 2022 following the withdrawal of Saint Preux's original opponent. Lins, however, was also forced to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons.

While Saint Preux was able to find a replacement, he was ultimately removed from the card as his third opponent pulled out the week of the fight.

'OSP' enters the fight with a professional mixed martial arts record of 26-16, including a 14-11 record since joining the UFC nearly a decade ago. The unranked light heavyweight has struggled over his past ten fights with a 4-6 (win-loss) record.

However, he will enter UFC Fight Night 219 coming off of a victory. Saint Preux notably faced Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 197 back in 2016, losing via unanimous decision.

While Lins has a professional record of 15-5, he is just 1-2 since making his UFC debut in 2020. Since joining the promotion, he has had nine fights either rescheduled, postponed, or canceled altogether.

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Ovince Saint Preux had three opponents withdraw from UFC 282

Ovince Saint Preux was originally slated to face former light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 282. Gustafsson, who has fought for the belt three times, including a UFC 165 bout with Jon Jones that was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing, was forced to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons.

He was ultimately replaced by Philipe Lins, who OSP will now face at UFC Fight Night 219. Lins, however, was also forced to withdraw from the bout due to undisclosed reasons, leading the UFC to book Antonio Trocoli as Saint Preux's third opponent for the event.

During the week of the fight, Trocoli, who was slated to make his UFC debut, withdrew from the bout due to visa issues. Trocoli was ultimately released from his contract.

While the UFC attempted to find a short-notice replacement for Ovince Saint Preux to remain on the card, their attempts were unsuccessful. Ultimately, the unranked light heavyweight was pulled from the card.