Ovince St. Preux had done his homework.
In scouting CT Turner, his opponent at Friday's XFC 7 at Thompson-Boling Arena, St. Preux noticed a tendency:
"When he feels like he has you running to the ropes, he drops his hands and comes lunging at you," St. Preux said.
That's precisely what happened in the first round of their light-heavyweight fight.
"He came rushing at me," St. Preux recalled from the locker room moments after the fight had ended. "He had his hands down, and I knew he wasn't going to expect it. The minute he came lunging forward I threw the
high kick. Next thing you know, he just toppled over.
Turner (3-1) was knocked out cold before he ever hit the canvass. Officially, the end came at 2:36 of the first round.
The crowd went nuts.
St. Preux, a former University of Tennessee football player, had entered the cage just a few minutes earlier to the tune of "Rocky Top." Turner, who trains in Gainesville, Fla., entered the cage to the tune of Florida's fight song.
As medical staff tended to Turner, St. Preux celebrated as fans broke out with an impromptu singing of "Rocky Top." Some mocked Turner by doing a "Gator chomp" with their arms.
"It kind of makes me feel like I'm back in Neyland Stadium after a big win against Florida," St. Preux said. "I played ball here at UT, went to school, graduated and everything. I'm going to bleed orange until the day I die. I'm really happy."
St. Preux said his legs kicks have always been strong.
"I've always wanted to use them, but I've never really had a chance to throw my high leg kicks," he said. "This is actually the first fight I actually stood there and thought about it. I set it up pretty good."
Easily overlooked, perhaps, is that St. Preux landed a punch after connecting with the kick.
"Every time I throw a kick a tell myself to make sure I throw a punch right after it," St. Preux said. "I threw the high kick and caught him again with a left hook coming down when he hit the ground."
It was all about timing.
"I've thrown kicks before in fights, but most of the time it was bad timing," St. Preux said. "I always threw them at the wrong time. This time I did it right. I timed it and everything."
St. Preux said some folks might not have given him due respect as he entered the cage with a pro record of 1-2.
"A lot of people don't realize, my first two fights were against some legitimate fighters," he said. "They were really good."
XFC president John Prisco entered the cage and immediately extended St. Preux an invitation to fight at the XFC's next event at Thompson-Boling. The April 25 card will be televised live.
Later in the night, Prisco said this of St. Preux:
"As a promoter, could you have asked for a better finish? I mean, come on. The way it ended like that. The crowd went completely nuts. I don't think I've ever seen a reaction like that. Don't you think they're going to come back and see him again? I've love to have 'O' back."
St. Preux said he will fight on the April 25 card. He could have a fight before then but hasn't settled on whether or not he'll fight at King of the Cage in Atlanta on March 27.
