briefly linked to a bout against Thiago Silva on January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35. However, Silva pulled out of the bout less than 24 hours after the announcement. The match against Silva was rescheduled for March 15, 2014 at UFC 171. However, the rescheduled bout was cancelled on February 7, 2014, after Silva was arrested by Florida police on attempted murder charges. Saint Preux instead fought Nikita Krylov at the event, winning in the first round with a Von Flue choke. The rare submission win also earned Saint Preux his first Performance of the Night bonus award. For his fourth fight, Saint Preux faced Ryan Jimmo on June 14, 2014, at UFC 174. He won the fight in the second round when Jimmo verbally submitted due to a broken arm as a result of blocking one of Saint Preux's kicks. Saint Preux faced Ryan Bader on August 16, 2014, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 47. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Saint Preux was expected to face Rafael Cavalcante on November 8, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 56. However, Cavalcante pulled out of the bout citing injury and was replaced by Francimar Barroso. However, on October 29, it was announced that Saint Preux would step up to replace an injured Jimi Manuwa in the main event against Maurício Rua. Despite being the underdog and fighting in Rua's home country of Brazil, Saint Preux won the fight via knockout just 34 seconds into the first round. Shogun's loss to Saint Preux was the fastest defeat of his professional career. The win also earned Saint Preux his second Performance of the Night bonus award. 2015 Saint Preux faced Patrick Cummins on April 18, 2015, at UFC on Fox 15. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Saint Preux faced Glover Teixeira on August 8, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 73. He lost the back-and-forth fight by submission in the third round. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors. 2016 Saint Preux next faced Rafael Cavalcante on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. Despite Preux injuring his ankle in the first round, he won the fight by unanimous decision. Saint Preux was tabbed as a short notice injury replacement to face Jon Jones for the interim light heavyweight title on April 23, 2016, at UFC 197 filling in for