UFC Ottawa needed a fill-in option when Nordine Taleb’s opponent pulled out, so they turned to
The UFC is coming to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on May 4 in the Canadian Tire Centre arena. Welterweight Nordine Taleb (14-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was originally supposed to fight Siyar Bahadurzada on this card. With that said, Siyar would pull out due to an injury. Now with Taleb needing a new opponent, the UFC signed Canada’s own Kyle Prepolec to take the fight.
5’9″
Welterweight
29-years-old
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Maximum Training Centre
12-5
7 KO/TKO
3 Submissions (Armbar, Rear-Naked Choke, Triangle)
How Does Kyle Prepolec Fare in the UFC:
Looking at his resume, Prepolec is deserving of this opportunity. He’s lost to former Bellator veteran Jason Fischer, a top prospect in Troy Lamson, former UFC fighter Alex Ricci, and current top contender and former title challenger Kevin Lee. His wins are to a good prospect in Adrian Hadribeaj and former UFC fighter Cody Pfister. Prepolec is well-rounded with stoppages from both TKO and submission. The Canadian really doesn’t have any glaring holes as his biggest problem is his tendency to be too conservative. He relies on his opponent to strike so he can counter and for his opponent to shoot so he can reverse. That being the reason he’s gone the distance five times. Prepolec hits hard and has a sneaky good lead head kick but lacks aggressiveness and hardly ever presses the action. His latest fight against Pfister was the best he’s looked in his career. He showed excellent takedown defense, counter-wrestling, and produced more volume. Overall, Prepolec is a good prospect but he is just too passive.
- Striking: C+
- Kickboxing: D
- Clinch: B-
- Wrestling: C+
- Grappling: B
- Striking Defense: B
- Takedown Defense: A-
- Cardio: A
- Biggest Strength: Well-rounded
- Biggest Weakness: Timidity
How he Matches Up with Nordine Taleb:
Taleb has fought in the UFC for about five years with 10 fights. Taleb at times can be too patient as well, like Prepolec, so this fight could very well be a chess match. Taleb fights at a steady pace with improving striking and mixing in takedowns. They both lack the killer instinct but are well-rounded. It’s a hard fight to predict cause both are too similar. I would lean Taleb cause he’s fought the much better competition and he just tends to do a bit more.
