Kyle Prepolec’s Belgrade Homecoming

Kyle Prepolec heads to Belgrade, Serbia, for a UFC fight that carries significance beyond the competitive assignment. The Canadian is set to face Poland’s Mateusz Rebecki on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night: Medic vs Rodriguez, the promotion’s debut event in the Balkan nation. The event takes place at Belgrade Arena on August 1, 2026. For Prepolec, the trip is a first that connects directly to his family: his mother grew up there before emigrating, and he has described himself as half-Serbian and half-Croatian. At 36 years old, he is still finding new experiences in a career that has already brought difficult turns, unexpected calls and repeated returns to the UFC stage.

Eighteen years and 28 fights into mixed martial arts, Prepolec remains eager to take in the unusual opportunities the sport can provide. He said he tells younger athletes to embrace travel when they get to play the sport they love, because those moments become stories after a career ends. Belgrade gives that advice a personal dimension. It is also the latest test for a lightweight still seeking his first UFC win after four appearances across two stints with the promotion. Prepolec has dropped his two most recent UFC outings, including a back-and-forth fight with Drew Dober in Vancouver last October that earned Fight of the Night honors. His focus, however, is not on making the Rebecki matchup bigger than it needs to be. He sees the chance to walk to the Octagon, compete and represent himself as something worth appreciating while still treating a win as essential.

A winding road back to the UFC stage

Prepolec first received his UFC call-up in the spring of 2019 after compiling a 14-5 record while fighting primarily in Ontario, with occasional trips to Michigan and Indiana. His debut required a rapid adjustment. Moving up a weight class, he accepted a bout with Nordine Taleb in Ottawa on roughly a week’s notice and lost a unanimous decision. Four months later, he fought Austin Hubbard in Vancouver and again landed on the wrong side of the scorecards. The period that followed brought a serious setback. After the Hubbard fight, Prepolec was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a potentially life-threatening condition in which skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly. The condition can cause muscle weakness and pain, an irregular heartbeat and kidney failure. A few months later, as the COVID pandemic began, he was released from the UFC. With regional promotions pausing, he then spent more than two years without competing. That interruption did not close his path. Once competition resumed, Prepolec posted four wins in five starts, including three consecutive first-round stoppage victories. When Joel Alvarez could not make the trip to Montreal to face Benoit Saint Denis, Prepolec received another UFC call. Saint Denis won that bout by second-round submission, and Dober won the next one, but the Dober contest also delivered the Fight of the Night recognition that reflected the kind of performance Prepolec can produce.

That chronology is one clear measure of why the Belgrade assignment matters. Prepolec has faced a late-notice debut, a medical diagnosis, a lengthy absence from competition and another unexpected route back to the UFC. The results of his UFC fights have not yet produced a victory, but he has continued to return to the opportunity rather than allowing the setbacks to define the whole journey. His own comments place winning and experience alongside one another, not in opposition. Prepolec said the win is “super-important,” while also stressing the importance of the journey and everything between the beginning and end. He said losses have helped him grow in gratefulness and appreciation, including appreciation for the wins. That perspective does not reduce the stakes of facing Rebecki; it explains why he can approach a difficult assignment without carrying only the weight of his record. The personal setting adds another layer. Prepolec said this is where his mother grew up before emigrating, and he is finally getting to experience it for himself. The Serbia trip therefore offers supported career context for readers: it is a UFC event in a new country for him, a destination tied to his heritage and another chapter in a comeback route shaped by persistence.

Prepolec’s plan is to entertain and win

Prepolec’s stated approach to Rebecki is simple even if the opponent is not. He described the lightweight division as a place with no easy fights, comparing every assignment to a boss fight in a video game. The comparison fits his broader outlook: he does not expect an uncomplicated road, and he does not intend to wait for an ideal circumstance before competing. He said he wants to be entertaining and get the win in any way possible. Prepolec is not predicting a particular finish or insisting the bout must follow one script. If Rebecki shoots, Prepolec said he could look to take his neck. If Rebecki stands and trades, they will see where it goes. He also spoke openly about the range of outcomes he would welcome, from a quick win to a difficult 15 minutes that produces a memorable fight. That willingness to accept the uncertainty of the contest is matched by an appreciation for work that fans may not see. Prepolec noted the gym time, missed parties and missed special events behind a fighter’s appearance. His advice to younger athletes follows from that understanding: take in the travel and the chance to play the sport you love. For him, the Belgrade walk is both a family-connected first and another demanding lightweight test. The objective remains clear: fight, be himself, put on a show and pursue the UFC win that has eluded him so far.

• Prepolec is set to face Mateusz Rebecki on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night: Medic vs Rodriguez in Belgrade.
• Prepolec said his mother grew up in Serbia before emigrating, and he identifies as half-Serbian and half-Croatian.

Kyle Prepolec’s meeting with Mateusz Rebecki places a meaningful personal trip beside a familiar professional challenge. Belgrade is the place where his mother grew up before emigrating, while the fight is another opportunity for a veteran who has repeatedly worked his way back after setbacks. His career timeline offers one reader guide to the moment; his own words about embracing travel, effort and the journey offer another. On August 1, 2026, Prepolec will make the walk in Serbia with his focus on entertaining and finding a way to win.

Sources: UFC.com