17 hours Ago By Lewis Thompson
Ovince Saint Preux is no longer a UFC fighter. The man who fought Jon Jones for UFC gold as an exciting, up-and-coming challenger in Dana White’s roster has signed with a new MMA promotion. Saint Preux had his last UFC fight in October, losing by first-round submission to Ryan Spann at UFC 307.
The 41-year-old has now signed with the Global Fight League (GFL), according to the official website , which lists the Haitian as an officially signed light heavyweight. Saint Preux is famous for his unique techniques and moves, especially the Von Flue choke. He holds the UFC record for the highest number of victories achieved by way of the Von Flue choke, tapping out his opponents four times with the rare submission.
This even led to many fans renaming the manoeuvre the ‘Von Preux choke’ as he secured victories with it against Nikita Krylov, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Yushin Okami, and most recently, Michal Oleksiejczuk. Saint Preux debuted with the UFC in 2013 after successfully climbing his way to the top of Strikeforce, which sent most of its fighters to White’s promotion after its parent company, Zuffa, closed the organisation. He went unbeaten in his first three bouts and eventually earned a title shot against Jones, filling in for UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 as a short-notice injury replacement.
Although Saint Preux went the distance with Jones and lost via unanimous decision, it would not set a precedent for things to come. He proceeded to lose 10 of his next 18 bouts in White’s promotion, with his last victory coming against Kennedy Nzechukwu in March 2024. GFL will launch in 2025 with a team-based concept after securing funding from tech investors in Silicon Valley.
The brand-new promotion will feature six teams across four continents, with venues booked in 10 cities worldwide. Each team will consist of 20 fighters across 10 weight classes, a unique feature of the GFL, as all bouts will reportedly operate under a catchweight system. In December, the GFL announced the top 50 most-followed fighters who have signed with the promotion.
Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley topped the list, with other ex-UFC stars such as Fabricio Werdum, Anthony Pettis, Luke Rockhold and Alexander Gustafsson also featured. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show , GFL founder Darren Owen revealed the business model behind his MMA promotion. “Launching in 2025, the Global Fight League seeks to redefine the business model and enhance competition in mixed martial arts,” he said.
“Athletes and coaches will be part of an incentive and revenue sharing plan based on league success, while competing for glory and engaging with fans in cities around the world. “The GFL will reimagine the business of combat sports for the 21st century.” GFL will also have a 50/50 revenue share model with the fighters and offer retirement incentives.
Numerous fights signed to the promotion are largely past their prime and may only have one or two fights left in their professional careers. Stuart Austin is one of the few MMA fighters who can claim to have a victory over UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall . He is one of four English fighters to feature in MMA’s new league, with Danny ‘The Cheesecake Assassin’ Mitchell, former PFL fighter Oscar Ownsworth, and ex-UFC representative Cameron Else also signed to the promotion.
Owens also told Helwani that he will meet with potential broadcasters in January to negotiate broadcast rights for the promotion’s inaugural season..
