UFC Vegas 30 Co-Main: Boser vs St. Preux Preview and Breakdown

Saturday’s card from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas will begin at 1 pm ET/ 10 am PT on ESPN+. The main card will follow at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT. No concrete starting time for the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event is known, with the walkouts contingent on when the fights preceding them finish.

Boser takes this bout on a few weeks’ notice, having most recently fought Ilir Latifi during UFC Vegas 28 on June 5. Unfortunately, he lost that bout via split decision after 15 minutes during the main card. The UFC Vegas 30 co-main event will be a maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Fighter Comparison

Heading into the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event on Saturday evening, Ovince St. Preux is the taller man, standing 6-foot-3, with Tanner Boser standing 6-foot-2.

Additionally, OSP owns a 4 1/2-inch reach (80 inches even to 75 1/2 inches) advantage and a two-inch (45 inches to 43 inches) leg reach advantage over Tanner Boser.

OSP Opponent Change and Switch to Heavyweight at UFC Vegas 30 Co-Main Event

OSP has posted a record of 2-3 in his last five MMA bouts, most recently suffering a second-round standing TKO loss at the hands of Jamahal Hill during UFC Vegas 16’s co-headliner back in December.

Initially, St. Preux was slated to have faced Maxim Grishin on Saturday night before the latter withdrew from the contest, resulting in Boser stepping in.

He also returns to the UFC’s heavyweight ranks in the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event after having fought in the light heavyweight ranks in his last two UFC appearances.

Late opponent change notwithstanding, expect Ovince St. Preux to come into the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event hungry for a victory, preferably by stoppage.

In an interview following UFC Vegas 9, when he stopped Alonso Menifield (second-round knockout: counter left hook) in the co-main event of the evening, St. Preux summed up his victory thusly:

“The thing about it is, I generate a lot of power, regardless. I mean, I’ve got powers in my hands, I’ve got powers in my feet, but at the same time from that position, I see everything coming, and, you know, Alonso’s a power puncher and he overcommitted, and when he overcommitted and let himself open, his chin was standing right at me and I just landed perfectly.”

Boser Refused Gustafsson Recently

Tanner Boser enters UFC Vegas 30 on the strength of a 2-3 record in his last five UFC appearances and has now lost two fights in a row.

As previously mentioned, Boser enters this fight, having accepted the contract on short notice. Latifi was not the first opponent he was offered for that fight just a few short weeks ago.

During the run-up to UFC Vegas 28 on June 5, Boser revealed in an interview that he was offered to fight Alexander Gustafsson, a contest that he declined in earlier in the spring, saying:

“I didn’t have a fight lined up, I was offered Alexander Gustafsson. But the fight would have been late May, so it wouldn’t really have been much of a different date. I’ve just been waiting. I was kind of no rush, I had stuff to work on and now I have a fight, got to go get it done.”

OSP: Stoppage Hunter

Stylistically, the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event appears to be a toss-up on paper. Both OSP and Boser subscribe to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, OSP holding a brown belt in BJJ and Boser holding a purple belt in BJJ.

One notable aspect of Ovince St. Preux’s MMA career is his ability to secure the win by stoppage in his fights. Just take a look at his career statistics.

In his 25 career MMA wins, he’s finished 20 of his fights inside the distance (12 by knockout, eight by submission.) OSP has also entered into some rarified air in his MMA career, having locked in a submission via elusive von flue choke four times.

For Ovince St. Preux, the key to victory this Saturday night is to knock Tanner Boser down. Should he be able to knock down Boser, he can establish top position and unload on him using a flurry of punches to score the win by way of knockout thanks to ground and pound.

On the contrary, scoring a takedown could give OSP the opening that he needs to advance on it, take mount and grapple with Tanner Boser in hopes that he might finish him by submission during the co-main attraction on Saturday night in the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event.

Don’t Underestimate Tanner Boser’s Karate Prowess

On the contrary, Tanner Boser is a black belt in Shito-ryu karate fighting. He has used that background to secure roughly half of his wins by way of knockout, with the other stoppages coming by submission.

For Boser, the key in the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event is going to be simple. He needs to keep this fight on the feet and drain Ovince St. Preux’s energy. Knocking OSP off of his game could be the way to swing momentum in Tanner Boser’s column and increase the chances of a victory.

Final Thoughts

Heavyweight fights can end with as little as a single blow. One shot could mean good night for either of these guys on Saturday night. Thus, you can expect excitement and drama of the highest order during the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event.

This will not be a time to get something to eat. Make your refrigerator trip before UFC Vegas 30 starts, and don’t look away for a bite to eat during the co-main event, either. You don’t want to miss anything.

Prediction: Ovince St. Preux by Unanimous Decision.

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