Matthew Kenneth Frevola (born June 11, 1990) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

currently competing in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also competed for the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

and

Titan FC Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

Background

Born and raised in Long Island, New York, Frevola began competing in sports from a young age; he played football,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. Frevola attended

Harborfields High School Harborfields High School is a four-year secondary school located in Greenlawn, New York, United States. It functions as the sole high school for Harborfields Central School District, encompassing the communities of Centerport and Greenlawn a ...

, where he started wrestling and also picked up Brazilian jiu-jitsu during high school. Frevola then attended the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

program of

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

. Frevola is a lieutenant in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Frevola compiled an undefeated amateur record of 8–0 from 2011 to 2014, when he made his professional debut. Winning his first five professional bouts, he was selected to compete on Dana White's Contender Series 8 on August 29, 2017. Frevola defeated 7–0 Jose Flores via second-round submission and was awarded a UFC contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Frevola made his promotional debut against

Polo Reyes Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi on January 14, 2018. He lost via first-round knockout. Frevola faced

Lando Vannata Landon Anthony Vannata (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly comp ...

on November 3, 2018, at

UFC 230 ''UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bo ...

. The bout ended in a majority draw. Frevola faced Jalin Turner on April 13, 2019 at

UFC 236 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest M ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. As the first fight of his four-fight contract, Frevola faced Luis Peña on October 12, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 161. He won the fight via split decision. Frevola was expected to face Roosevelt Roberts on April 25, 2020. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that the event would be postponed to a future date. Instead, Frevola was set to face Frank Camacho on June 20, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov, however, on June 18, it was revealed that Frevola was pulled from the bout after one of his cornermen tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. A bout with Roosevelt Roberts was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 177 on September 12, 2020. However, Frevola pulled out of the bout against Roberts on September 11, 2020, citing an injury. He was replaced by newcomer

Kevin Croom Kevin Michael Croom (born July 15, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2009, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Titan FC, the RFA, the LFA, and CES MMA. Mixed martia ...

. Frevola was expected to face

Ottman Azaitar Ottman Azaitar (born February 20, 1990) is a German mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the younger brother of UFC fighter Abu Azaitar. Background Ottman Azaitar wa ...

on January 24, 2021, at

UFC 257 ''UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 24, 2021 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background Starting with ...

. However, on the day of the weigh-ins it was announced that Azaitar was pulled from the bout after it was determined that he had violated COVID-19 health and safety protocols. In turn, Azaitar was removed from the UFC's designated safety zone on Yas Island and released from the promotion. As a result, the promotion negotiated a matchup between Frevola and

Arman Tsarukyan Arman Nairovich Tsarukyan (; born October 11, 1996) is a Georgia-born Armenian and Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, ...

(whose original opponent had also been removed from the card) to keep both fighters on the card. Subsequently, Tsarukyan forfeited 20% of his purse as a result of missing weight, which went to Frevola. Frevola lost the fight via unanimous decision. Frevola was again scheduled to face Frank Camacho on June 12, 2021, at

UFC 263 ''UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2021, at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, United States. Background The event was the second ...

. However, Camacho pulled out of the fight during the week leading up to the event after he was involved in a traffic accident in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

that left him with non-life threatening injuries to his back and neck. In turn, Frevola faced promotional newcomer

Terrance McKinney Terrance Kitarius McKinney (born September 15, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2017, McKinney also compet ...

instead. Frevola lost the fight via knockout 7 seconds into the first round. For the last fight of his prevailing contract, Frevola faced Genaro Valdéz on January 22, 2022, at

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificati ...

. After knocking down Valdéz multiple times, Frevola won the fight via technical knockout in round one. The bout between Frevola and

was rescheduled for November 12, 2022 at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Personal life

Frevola graduated from

with a bachelor's degree in Criminology. Frevola is a member of the

United States Army Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020, ...

as an Engineer Officer.

Mixed martial arts record

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

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Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

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New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jose Flores , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:32 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Raush Manfio Raush Manfio Lourenço (born November 3, 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League. On October 27, 2021, he won the PFL lightweight championship belt. Figh ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Titan FC 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Emmanuel Ramirez , Decision (unanimous) , Absolute Fighting Championship 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Coconut Creek, Florida Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Situated north of Miami, it had a population of 57,833 in 2020. It is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city seceded from ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frevola, Matt 1990 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from New York (state) People from Huntington, New York Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York University of Tampa alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu