Windsor’s Kyle Prepolec says he regrets fighting on after taking illegal blow in recent UFC loss

Kyle Prepolec spoke with CTV Windsor three days after his Oct. 18 UFC fight against Drew Dober. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Windsor mixed martial artist Kyle Prepolec says he’s still processing what happened inside the octagon this past Saturday in Vancouver — a fight he describes as “bittersweet” after suffering a controversial defeat to veteran Drew Dober.

“Everything felt good, everything felt right, everything was going my way — until that low blow,” Prepolec told CTV Windsor following the fight. “It’s a little bittersweet because we got the bonus but we didn’t get the win.”

The third-round TKO loss was overshadowed by a groin strike from Dober that left the Windsor fighter visibly hurt.

Referee John Cooper deducted a point from Dober after the illegal blow but allowed the fight to continue.

Moments later, Dober unleashed a flurry of punches that forced a stoppage — a call that drew loud boos from the Canadian crowd.

Prepolec said he was never informed what would happen if he couldn’t continue.

“I was thinking, how come there’s no doctor? Why isn’t the ref saying, ‘Hey, if you can’t continue, what happens?’” he said.

“No one told me if it would go to the scorecards, a DQ, a no contest — nothing. Fighters need to be protected from themselves sometimes.”

The Windsor lightweight said he struggled to regain his footing after the low blow but chose to fight on, fearing the implications of stopping.

“I told him I wanted to finish the fight, but I still didn’t have my legs under me,” he said.

“I didn’t know what they were going to say, so I just got to go and fight. I shouldn’t have done that — next time, if that ever happens again, I’m just not continuing after that.”

He said the impact reminded him of an incident more than a decade ago.

“I haven’t been hit like that since 2012, when a guy actually cracked my cup,” he recalled. “I thought I was going to throw up. As soon as I went to get up, I thought to myself, ‘Man, this is not cool.’”

Despite the loss, Prepolec earned Fight of the Night honours — and with it, a $50,000 (USD) bonus. Still, the 36 year old said the financial reward can’t replace the missed opportunity.

“It’s huge because it helps a lot, but everything is bittersweet,” he said. “You put in all that work. Yeah, the money helps — but you still want the win.”

Prepolec hopes the UFC and athletic commissions review how low blows are handled, particularly when fighters are pressured to continue.

“They say you get five minutes to recover,” he said. “But while I’m on the ground trying not to throw up, the other guy’s getting his breath back. He gets five extra minutes while I’m recovering from an illegal shot. It totally changed the tide of everything.”

Though uncertain what comes next, Prepolec remains hopeful his effort — and heart — will keep him in the UFC.

“It’s a cutthroat business. I could be released for all I know,” he said. “But maybe they’ll see that I still fought through that, showed some grit, and give me another shot.”

The Dober loss drops Prepolec’s UFC record to 0-4. Two of those fights, however, saw the Windsor native fill in on about one week’s notice.