UFC 288 is the fight Matt Frevola has been waiting for
Matt Frevola celebrates his victory over Ottman Azaitar in their lightweight bout during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12, 2022. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
After the last punch hit a pad, the final kick zipped through the air and the weight sled crossed the finish line one more time, Matt Frevola raised his arms upward in a show of victory.
There was no opponent around. No judges to attempt to sway in the last seconds of a close round. No cameras to capture the moment.
Rather, it occurred after a grueling workout with trainer Ray Longo on what Huntington’s Frevola called his “rest day” as he prepared for his lightweight fight at UFC 288 in Newark on Saturday.
“After every workout, I put my arms in the air in sweet victory,” Frevola said. “Every small victory in this fight game, I take. I put my hands up after every workout because I know I pushed myself to the limit. As long as I leave everything I got in that training room, as long as I leave everything I got in that cage, I put my arms up in victory.”
It’s those small victories that Frevola hopes propel him to the larger wins — the ones that change his financial portfolio for the better, boost his profile and continue moving him up the ladder in the UFC’s lightweight division.
That next opportunity arrives Saturday inside the Prudential Center when Frevola faces 14th-ranked Drew Dober.
Dober (26-11) has finished his last three opponents and his eight career wins by knockout are tied with Dustin Poirier for the most in UFC lightweight history. It’s the exact challenge Frevola has been seeking.
“I was honestly very impressed with him for accepting the fight because you get a lot of these top-ranked guys that don't want to fight down,” Frevola said. “He's number 14 in the world. He didn't have to come down and fight me. I'm number 30. So I give him a lot of respect for taking this fight. I got my opportunity, and that's all I needed. Now I'm gonna show the world.”
Dober said that even though he was trying for a top-10 fighter as his next opponent, he had no hesitation in accepting this fight.
“As soon as the the final offer was placed in front of me with the name Matt Frevola, I was like, yep, absolutely,” Dober said Wednesday at UFC 288 media day. “This guy engages he looks for a finish. I don't think he's in boring fights.
“I'm not above fighting anyone and I think people without a number in front of the name are the most dangerous because they're hungry. They have something to prove."
Frevola (10-3-1) said he’s been watching Dober’s past fights and was entertained by the 34-year-old southpaw from Colorado.
“He has one of the best knockout highlight reels in the UFC I've ever seen,” Frevola said. “He throws down. He comes forward. He's not there to play pattycake, he's there to fight. And that's exactly how I fight.”
Frevola, nicknamed “The SteamRolla,” has been growing his knockout reel of late as well. He tied the UFC record for most knockdowns in a round when he stopped Genaro Valdez in the first round at UFC 270 in January 2022. Frevola followed up that performance with a first-round knockout of Ottman Azaitar at UFC 281 last November at Madison Square Garden.
“I didn't want to fight just some UFC newcomer who's 1-2 because it was an easy fight, an easy win. I didn't want that,” Frevola said. “I wanted the toughest fight I could get. I wanted the highest ranked, the best guy I could fight to get me on a title trajectory because I'm 32 years old. I'm in the prime of my life. The time is now.”
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
