Matt Frevola on His Loss to Terrance McKinney: ‘We Have to Run That Again’

Matt Frevola feels he needs to make a statement at UFC 270, where he will lock horns with undefeated prospect Genaro Valdez. For the first time, Frevola (8-3-1, 2-3-1 UFC) finds himself on a two-bout skid. On top of that, “The Steamrolla” was on the losing side of the quickest KO in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship 155-pound division after Terrance McKinney stopped him with punches in just seven seconds at UFC 263. While Frevola admits to having been caught with a flashy combination that night, he also believes that it was a perfect storm for his opponent.

“Stars aligned for him that night,” Frevola told Sherdog. “He perfectly timed two punches that caught me and put me down. Good for him, he seems like a good kid. It sucks he had to make his name off and knocking me out, but he did, and I’m happy for him, but we got to run that one back eventually. We didn’t really get to fight. He caught me, he got me, but I definitely think when we fight again, which we will, it will go differently.

When asked about a rematch, Frevola answered that he needs that and will pursue it. The loss never sat right with him, and he also said he wasn’t completely out when referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight.

“I need that,” he said. “I need that one back. I mean, we didn’t even get to fight. It was [just that] one-two [combination], he caught me. I’m not mad at [referee Jason] Herzog for stopping the fight. I thought he could have maybe, you know, if he didn’t stop the fight, then, I mean, I wasn’t completely out. I got dropped for sure, but… I’m not mad at the stoppage because I don’t want my family and friends to see me getting pounded on, you know, but I wasn’t unconscious, and I probably would have survived and come back. We’ll see."

Frevola also discussed his long training camp for Valdez, his wedding and honeymoon, and more.

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(00:47) His wedding and honeymoon in Italy
(02:45) Preparing for Valdez
(04:48) Making adjustments after his recent back-to-back losses
(06:22) His loss to McKinney
(08:14) Pursuing a rematch
(09:17) Coping with his fights being constantly rescheduled
(10:26) His thoughts on Valdez
(11:35) Picking Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane fight
(12:37) His pick for Brandon Moreno - Deiveson Figueiredo
(13:08) Outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.