Matt Frevola wants to be first to knock out Drew Dober in UFC: 'I don't lose dog fights'
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Matt Frevola is looking to make history at UFC 288.
Frevola (10-3-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) faces Drew Dober (26-11 MMA, 12-7 UFC) in Saturday’s featured prelim at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Frevola is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts of Genaro Valdez and Ottman Azaitar. In 19 UFC fights, Dober has never been stopped by strikes, and Frevola wants to be the first fighter to knock him out in the octagon.
“He’s never been knocked out before, so I’d love to go in there and do something that nobody’s ever done,” Frevola said Wednesday during UFC 288 media day. “My last two guys, I gave them their first loss, and I’d be ecstatic to go in there and give Dober his first knockout loss. … I know he’ll be there the whole time, so I’ve got to put him out and be calculated in there. That’s something we’ve really been working with.”
Not only has Dober never been knocked out, he’s also tied with Dustin Poirier for most knockouts in UFC lightweight history. But Frevola is confident that he’ll win the battle of attrition.
“I was pumped when I got this fight because I’ve been a fan of his,” Frevola said. “I’ve been watching him from the beginning, and then being able to fight him now is a dream come true. He is a dog. He’s a dog, and I’m a dog. It’s gonna be a dog fight in there, and I don’t lose dog fights.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.