Contender Series alum Matt Frevola would love to log some travel miles and join UFC 243 in Melbourne, or failing that, make his return at UFC Boston alongside teammate Chris Weidman.
Las Vegas, NV — Dana White’s Contender Series alumni Matt Frevola was back in Las Vegas on Tuesday, once again on the set of the show. Only this time, Frevola (7-1-1) wasn’t fighting. Instead, he there supporting a teammate, as well as checking out the recently opened UFC Apex for the first time.
The Apex is a true fight venue, unlike the old TUF Gym, which was, well, a gym. But like the show’s previous digs, there’s no walkout music at the Apex. “I honestly like that. I like the intimate viewing that’s here,” Frevola told Cageside Press prior to Tuesday’s card. “Take out the music, it’s just raw fighting. I think that’s what Dana’s looking for. He’s just trying to take all the bullsh*t aside, and look at these fighters fight. So I think it’s perfect.”
The fighters are certainly under the microscope on the show, doing their best to earn UFC deals. “Steamrolla” knows the feeling well. After all, it’s how he made his way into the promotion. “I love that intimate feel of the fight,” said Frevola, who was excited to see things from the other side. ‘I fought two years ago for the Contender Series. It would be cool to spectate it now, and see that experience.”
Frevola was in the house to support Billy Quarantillo, and the good news is, Quarantillo not only won, but got the finish on Tuesday. Frevola, who trains with Serra-Longo, has a couple more pals with Contender Series fights coming up.
His own career is also rolling along as well. Earning a UFC deal “almost solidified all my training throughout college. Grinding, fighting in parking lots as an amateur, coming up on the circuit,” he told us Tuesday. Now that he’s where he always wanted to be, “it’s making a name for myself in that organization. My first three fights, the first one didn’t go very well, it was a huge learning experience. My second fight I got better, I learned from that first fight. In the second fight, I had that draw with Lando [Vannata], which was an awesome fight. And the fight after that I finally went out there and got my first win in the octagon. I’m constantly improving, constantly growing, and I got another four fight deal with the UFC. So now I’m continuing the evolution of the “Steamrolla” for the next fight.”
That four fight deal means we should be seeing Frevola back in the not-too-distant future. Right now, he’s targeting October. “I’ve been training, I’m feeling good. I’m hoping to get — Ideally i’d love to go to Australia, that would be a dream come true. But Boston would be awesome, I love the East Coast, Boston’s a great city.”
Plus, it was recently announced that one of Frevola’s teammates and mentors, Chris Weidman, would move to light heavyweight and take on Dominick Reyes on the UFC Boston card. “We were talking, it would be cool to get on that Boston card with Weidman, get the whole team out there too.”
