Matt Frevola planning to bring Fares Ziam into a “dogfight” at UFC Paris: “He will finally have an exciting fight”

Matt Frevola is excited to finally make the walk to the Octagon again.

Frevola is set to return on Saturday at UFC Paris against Fares Ziam. It’s his first since November of last year when he suffered a KO loss to Benoit Saint-Denis. Since then, his wife welcomed their son into the world, so he took time to be a dad. But, once he was ready to return, he says he pushed to be on this Paris card.

“It’s something we wanted, we push to be on this card. I love the French people, the French fans they are so passionate. From my last fight against Benoit, even in a loss, I really felt the love from all the French people. France is somewhere I have always wanted to go, there is not better reason to go to Paris to have a nice scrap and then a vacation,” Frevola said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com.

With Frevola pushing to fight on the Paris card, he was booked to fight Frenchman Fares Ziam. It’s an opponent that Frevola is very familiar with, but he knows it won’t be the usual point-fighting scrap that Ziam is used to.

“I’ve watched a bunch of his fights, even before we were matched. He’s a very technical kickboxer and well-rounded,” Frevola said. “He’s on a three-fight winning streak. So, I’m preparing for the best version of him…

Matt Frevola plans to finish Fares Ziam at UFC Paris

“He’s gotten those wins. A lot of them have been close, but he’s been able to get the W. He’s a smart, intelligent striker and uses his high fight IQ to squeak out those wins. But, that’s not how I fight, I go in there looking for the finish. If he thinks he’s going to be skating and landing his jab and making it boring, that is not how I fight. He will finally have an exciting fight, fighting me,” Frevola added.

Although Matt Frevola is planning for an exciting fight at UFC Paris, he knows he still has to be smart against Fares Ziam. The American believes he’s the better overall MMA fighter which will help him get the stoppage win.

“It’s going to be a fight. He will try and outpoint me, and I’m going to come in there and look to finish him. I’m well-rounded, I can wrestle, I can strike, good jiu-jitsu and I plan on using all my weapons against him. It’s not going to be a pretty kickboxing fight like he wants. It’s going to be a dog fight,” Frevola said.

Should Frevola get the stoppage win at UFC Paris that he’s after, the goal is to get a big-name opponent next.

“Who knows with those rankings, I know I have fought some of the best guys in the world, I’ve beaten some of the best guys in the world and I know I belong. All I can do is focus on being my best and showing that. With a win in Paris, I’m looking to keep climbing the ranks and get a good fight scheduled.”