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Ahead of UFC Vancouver on Oct. 18, a pair of new matchups have been announced on Friday. Both bouts will likely serve on the prelims, although the lineup has not yet been determined. Announcing his fight on his own social media with a “South Park”-inspired theme, Matt Frevola (11-5-1) will be taking on Canadian Kyle Nelson (16-6-1) at this Fight Night event at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Both athletes will be returning to competition after over a year away with a knockout loss at their back, and they will likely be facing one another at 155 pounds.
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The 35-year-old from New York has struggled in recent outings, suffering back-to-back knockouts at the shin of Benoit St. Denis and the knee of Fares Ziam in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Those setbacks put a three-fight first-round knockout streak in the rearview mirror for the aggressive “Steamrolla.” An additional defeat would put Frevola below .500 in the Octagon, as he holds five triumphs, five losses and a draw in the UFC to date.
Like Frevola, Nelson had amassed a win streak of three in a row before getting stopped with strikes. Nelson, 34, had topped Blake Bilder and Fernando Padilla on the scorecards, but his knockout of Bill Algeo put him on a long list of contenders at featherweight. When he missed weight by 2.5 pounds prior to taking on Steve Garcia—who went on to knock him out—“The Monster” elected to shift back to lightweight for his next offering.
In addition to Frevola vs. Nelson, the promotion has put together a bantamweight banger between Cody Gibson (21-11) and Qileng Aori (25-12, 1 NC). This contest was first reported on Friday by UFC op Eurosport. Like the previously discussed pairing above, both of these athletes will be trying to shed the bitter taste of defeat having lost their last respective encounter.
Gibson, on his second stint with the organization, has yet to raise his UFC record above .500, having won just three of his eight appearances to date. When he came back to the promotion in 2023, he vied for the Season 31 trophy at 135 pounds for “The Ultimate Fighter” against Brad Katona. While he came up short on the scorecards, and then lost by decision to Miles Johns, he bounced back in 2024 with a pair of victories over Brian Kelleher and Chad Anheliger. In March, Gibson was submitted courtesy of a Da’Mon Blackshear kimura.
A win for Aori would be his first since 2023, when he claimed a decision over Johnny Munoz Jr. Since then, the Chinese-based athlete got kicked in the groin while in the air with a front kick from Daniel Marcos, and he fell short to Raul Rosas Jr. at Noche UFC in 2024.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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