UFC Predictions: UFC Vegas 30: Ciryl Gane vs Alexander Volkov predictions

#2 UFC heavyweight division: Ovince St. Preux vs Tanner Boser

Would Tanner Boser's quick hands take him past Ovince St. Preux?

Quite why longtime UFC veteran Ovince St. Preux is moving back up to heavyweight, is anyone’s guess. A contender for nearly a decade at 205 lbs, OSP moved to heavyweight in 2020 for the first time and lost a pretty poor fight to Ben Rothwell.

This time, he will face off with Tanner Boser, who’s desperate for a win of his own following two straight octagon losses. Would OSP be able to pull this one-off?

Firstly, it’s worth noting that this will be Boser’s second fight in just four weeks. He fought on June 5th against Ilir Latifi, losing a pretty plodding decision in what was a disappointing showing from him.

The loss followed a defeat to Andrei Arlovski in what was a better performance. Boser clearly lost to the former UFC champion but did have some success and showed some decent striking chops in the process.

In fact, Boser’s hands have looked excellent since the start of 2020. After a loss to Ciryl Gane, the Canadian got into much better shape and destroyed Philipe Lins and Raphael Pessoa with remarkable hand speed to take his UFC record at the time to 3-1.

St. Preux, meanwhile, has shown a worrying downturn in form in recent years. He has gone 2-4 in his last six fights, and even his two wins came with caveats. He was beaten down by Michal Oleksiejczuk before the Pole gassed out, and St. Preux caught Alonzo Menifield by surprise with a KO shot.

The worrying thing for OSP here is that his chin appeared to be deteriorating in his most recent fight – a KO loss to Jamahal Hill. While he’d expect to have a speed advantage at heavyweight, that might not ring true against a fighter with hands as fast as Boser’s.

There’s a chance that OSP could use his experience to wear Boser down for a decision or a potential late submission. But the more likely result here seems to be Boser surprising OSP with his hand speed and unleashing a quick combination on him for a knockout.

The Pick: Boser via first-round knockout.