The week has been busy, buzzing with constant activity. Most often, fans aren’t privy to how fights formulate. That all changed this week with Fight Inc: Inside the UFC docuseries — a new release on The Roku Channel. Cameras for the docuseries captured many vital moments, one of which centered around then-champ Aljamain Sterling; Now, his teammate Matt Frevola pitches in on the same.
Earlier this week, the docuseries released footage of UFC CBO Hunter Campbell dynamically urging ‘The Funk Master’ to fight Sean O’Malley. Sterling felt he needed to heal more from his UFC 288 title scrap. Since then, he has broken his silence on being gaslit into the battle. Moreover, Sterling spoke about what happens if a fighter says no to a matchup. Now, Frevola joins in to offer a fresh perspective.
Fun fact. Fighters don’t have to say yes to a fight offered to them…Another fun fact. If you say no to a fight offer, the UFC isn’t obligated to give you another fight for another 6 months…Wish more fans understood that it’s not so black and white.
Matt “The Steamrolla”Frevola via X (@SteamRollaa)
Sterling and O’Malley would go on to fight each other at UFC 292. ‘Suga’ won the fight via a second-round TKO, with a fateful right and a flurry of hammering ground-and-pound. The latest “UFC Muted | No Commentary” (@ufc) video segments revealed Tim Welch baiting Sterling into leaning in for O’Malley’s winning sequence. While there’s already palpable traction from that, this adds more to the purview.
Fun fact. Fighters don’t have to say yes to a fight offered to them.
Another fun fact. If you say no to a fight offer, the UFC isn’t obligated to give you another fight for another 6 months.
Wish more fans understood that it’s not so black and white. https://t.co/ED8dAABj6J
— Matt “The Steamrolla”Frevola (@SteamRollaa) June 11, 2024
Frevola gets the notion of wanting to stay active and fight brand value names whenever he can. Fans scrutinize a fighter’s active motivation when they choose to sit out a particular pairing. In addition, management is not contractually obligated to offer a fighter another fight for a certain period. He notions that’s what happened with Sterling.
Matt Frevola understands POV from UFC brass standpoint
Matt ‘The Steamrolla’ Frevola isn’t one to say no to a fight. He last lost to Benoit Saint-Denis on the UFC 295 main card. The military veteran earned praise for switching to battle mode and performing at his best, even in the loss. When Conor McGregor was yet to re-enter the Anti-Doping Agency drug testing pool, the UFC lightweight doused warring words at peer Michael Chandler in hopes of a fight.
Matt Frevola understands why and how certain pairings are made (Source: bjpenn.com/Instagram)He even wanted to fight Paddy Pimblett. However, he settled for Saint-Denis, who was riding on a winning streak in the UFC at the time. The Madison Square Garden Company venue on home turf was a good selling point for Veteran’s Day. Frevola is a veteran; Saint-Denis also served in the 1st Marine Infantry Paratroopers Regiment ( RPIMa ).
So the knee-deep implications when making a fight matter in such cases. The same could be said about Aljamain Sterling’s bantamweight defense against O’Malley. Here’s what the Team Serra-Longo Fight Team lightweight says about it:
You gotta remember the UFC is a well run machine/business. From a business standpoint, having O’Malley fight next in Boston for the belt was ideal. A lot of fighters fight hurt and Aljo didn’t take crazy damage against Cejudo. I get both sides here. It’s just business and UFC is…
— Matt “The Steamrolla”Frevola (@SteamRollaa) June 11, 2024
Back then, O’Malley was leapfrogging in popularity due to his new neo-fanbase. Coupled with his definitive striking skill and underrated grappling talent (to that of Sterling’s fame as a grappler), it made sense.
It’s not always easy on Campbell, Dana White, or matchmaker Mick Maynard to let go of such opportunities. UFC would be in an improbable impasse if it always abided by super-ethical matchmaking and a long rest phase. All in all, Matt Frevola gets both sides of the story.
