Two of the UFC light heavyweight division’s most seasoned veterans are expected to square off in the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of 2022.
Multitime UFC title challenger Alexander Gustafsson is expected to return against former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux in a light heavyweight bout. The fight will take place Dec. 10 at UFC 282 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Gustafsson (18-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC), 35, has not won since May 2017. He’s attempted four times, but all have resulted in finishing defeats. His four-fight skid includes a title challenge loss to Jon Jones by TKO, submission losses to Anthony Smith and Fabricio Werdum, and most recently a 67-second TKO loss to Nikita Krylov in July.
Saint Preux, 39, snapped a two-fight skid in May at UFC 274 when he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by split decision in a relatively uneventful affair. Over the span of his most recent six outings, Saint Preux is 3-3 with appearances at both light heavyweight and heavyweight.
With the addition, the UFC 282 lineup includes:
- Robbie Lawler vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Chris Daukaus vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Chris Curtis
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Billy Quarantillo
- T.J. Brown vs. Erik Silva
- Daniel da Silva vs. Vinicius Salvador
- Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett
- Ronnie Lawrence vs. Cameron Saaiman
- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Ovince Saint Preux