Saint Preux seeks new opponent for UFC Charlotte with Latifi hurt
Ovince Saint Preux needs a new dance partner.
The light heavyweight announced Tuesday that Ilir Latifi has pulled out of their co-headlining Jan. 27 date at UFC on FOX 27 in Charlotte with an injury, adding he's willing to move up to heavyweight in order to remain on the bill.
Latifi confirmed Saint Preux's claims Wednesday morning, urging his would-be foe to give him a few weeks to recover so they could do the damn thing.
Very sorry the fight got canceled, a lot of hard work and sacrifice was put in for this fight. @003_OSP give me a couple of weeks to heal and we have a fight so don’t look for another fight, I’ll be back soon. Let’s give the fans a fight pic.twitter.com/QOCI1QAPdr
— Ilir Latifi (@Latifimma) January 17, 2018
The 34-year-old Saint Preux was last seen extending his stoppage streak to three with a brutal third-round KO of Corey Anderson at UFC 217 in November. He'd stepped up on short notice when Anderson's original opponent, Patrick Cummins, withdrew with a staph infection.
Latifi fought only once in 2017, handing Tyson Pedro his first career loss with a unanimous decision at UFC 215 in September. The victory got Latifi back in the win column a year after he'd suffered a second-round KO courtesy of Ryan Bader.
Middleweights Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and North Carolina native Derek Brunson meet for the second time in UFC on FOX 27's main event,