MMA Gospel Radio Hosts Ovince St. Preux and Alvin Robinson with Special Guest Co-Host Spilled Bag of Ice

Strikeforce light heavyweight rising star Ovince St. Preux joined Gary Friedman and Spilled Bag of Ice on this week's episode of MMA Gospel Radio. (Photo courtesy of Dave Mandel and Sherdog)

This week on MMA Gospel Radio, host Gary Friedman was joined by a guest co-host, the always entertaining Spilled Bag of Ice. The pair started the broadcast with a discussion of the UFC Fight for the Troops 2 card from last Saturday. Topics included Cole Miller (13-5) and Evan Dunham (10-2) and whether or not the pair were overrated prior to their losses to Matt Wiman (17-5) and “The Young Assassin” Melvin Guillard (26-8-2), respectively. Also on the table was a discussion of the impressive performance of “Meathead” Matt Mitrione (4-0) and his over-the-top personality and showmanship. Of course, his “Meatstache” was mentioned, as well.

The Gospel crew also spoke with Strikeforce light heavyweight superstar “OSP” Ovince St. Preux (9-4) who discussed his recent string of impressive wins including three straight victories in just seven weeks.  The former University of Tennessee Volunteers stand-out player OSP spoke about the differences in the kind of stamina it took to play NCAA level football as opposed to the type of cardio needed for MMA and how his rocky start in mixed martial arts really helped him learn as a fighter. St. Preux also discussed how he mentally prepared himself for 2010 after coming off of a less than spectacular 3-4 record in 2009. The Haitian American nearly did an about-face that next year, catapulting himself to top tier status after winning all five of his fights in 2010.

I told myself I just had to stick with it and it would come. And I did, and 2010 was a good year for me.”- Ovince St. Preux

Next on the show, Gary and Spilled Bag of Ice hosted Grudge fighter and BJJ specialist  “Kid” Alvin Robinson (12-5). Alvin spoke about his time with the UFC and the mental toll the losses to Nate Diaz (12-7) and Mark Bocek (9-3) took on his career, as well as his recent move to featherweight. “I would say that my first loss, I put too much pressure on myself,” Robinson explained, “Dana White was in the audience with a contract for me to sign and it was a fight I was supposed to win. That loss sucked, but I knew I wasn’t prepared for that fight. But the losses to Nate Diaz and to (Mark) Bocek, those loses hurt me a lot mentally…I’d get in the ring in great shape and start thinking this guy’s too strong and doubting myself. For whatever reason I couldn’t get over those losses.”

Robinson later explained how coach Trevor Wittman with Grudge Training Center helped him overcome that mental breakdown and become a better fighter at 145lbs. “Before, I’d get in the cage, I’d leave my hotel room before a fight weighing 155-156. I gave up a lot of weight…but dropping to 145, it just felt right. I feel strong at 145 and I can push guys around a little bit and I can compete.”

Before signing off, Robinson also related an interesting story about how his wrestling coach armbarred current Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren (7-0) in the hotel lobby after a fight one night, as well as his thoughts on fighting the best at featherweight. Check out the MMA Gospel Radio archives for the full interviews and much more.