Montreal — Returning to the UFC this Saturday is Windsor, Ontario’s Kyle Prepolec, a surprise addition to the UFC 315 card after he stepped up to face Benoit Saint-Denis following the withdrawal of Joel Alvarez.
Already in camp for a fight at Samourai MMA he wasn’t sure would actually happen, Prepolec noted during Wednesday’s UFC 315 media day that “this is the opportunity of a life time, this is a lottery shot.”
“Now it’s my time to prove myself, why I do belong here, to stay here, and I would like to finish here,” added Prepolec (18-8), who admitted that he always expected he’d have to be ready for a short-notice opportunity to make it back to the promotion, after going 0-2 in a brief UFC stint in 2019.
With names like Mateusz Gamrot offering their services against Saint-Denis (though just when Gamrot wanted the fight was brought into question on Wednesday), some have raised an eyebrow about Prepolec’s selection. Especially given that, while on a win streak, he’s only fought roughly three times in three years.
Of course, there are reasons for that— from opponents pulling out to, in one case, an event being cancelled entirely.
“It’s pretty difficult, especially when you’re at a certain level,” suggested Prepolec. “People will, you’re getting ready for these fights, some guy cut too much weight and he ends up in the hospital. And you’re like ‘dude, day of the fight, what happened? What did you do wrong?’ I’m glad he’s okay, but things like that happen, or people get hurt all the time or they just pull out because of who knows what. Or like you said, events cancelling and moving. It’s good to not dwell on the things, just life goes on, and just gotta keep moving forward and just progress that way.”
In three UFC fights, this Saturday’s UFC 315 marks Kyle Prepolec’s third trip to the octagon on Canadian soil. The others resulted in losses to Nordine Taleb and Austin Hubbard, and amount to wrongs that Prepolec would like to put right.
“100%. This is the time to really prove myself, and it’s all or nothing for me.”
Watch Kyle Prepolec’s full UFC 315 media day appearance above.
