Rivalries: Jake Matthews

Jake Matthews still hovers somewhere between contention and relevance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division.

The 29-year-old Australian will look to improve upon a 12-6 record inside the Octagon when he meets the undefeated Michael Morales in the UFC Fight Night 232 co-headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Matthews steps back into view having alternated wins and losses in each of his past four outings. He last appeared at UFC 291, where he tapped Darrius Flowers with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their July 29 pairing.

As Matthews makes final preparations for his looming battle with Morales at 170 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Dashon Johnson

Matthews improved to 6-0 and made quite an impression in his promotional debut, as he subdued the former two-division Xplode Fight Series champion with a triangle choke in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 43 lightweight prelim on June 28, 2014 at Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Johnson conceded defeat 3:16 into Round 3. The youngest fighter on the UFC roster at the time, Matthews dominated from start to finish. The 19-year-old opened a cut on Johnson’s forehead with a volley of savage elbows in the first round, utilized a suffocating clinch game in the second and turned up the heat in the third. There, Matthews moved to full mount and forced the Californian to yield his back. Johnson paid no mind to the trap being set for him and scrambled into top position, where he was met with the fight-ending triangle choke.

Kevin Lee

The Xtreme Couture rep swept away Matthews with first-round punches as part of “The Ultimate Fighter 23” Finale on July 8, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Lee slammed the door 4:06 into Round 1 and sent the Australian prospect back to the drawing board for just the second time in his career. Though he enjoyed some success on the feet, Matthews failed to maintain a safe distance from “The Motown Phenom.” Lee dragged his counterpart to the canvas, wheeled around to his back and set his hooks before flattening out the 21-year-old in a hapless belly-down position. The punches and hammerfists came next, with unanswered blows to the side of the head forcing the stoppage. Few have manhandled Matthews in such a physical manner.

Jingliang Li

Matthews leaned on all-terrain skills and claimed a unanimous decision over the China Top Team export in a three-round UFC 221 welterweight showcase on Feb. 10, 2018 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. Scores were 29-28, 30-26 and 30-26. Matthews set the tone from the outset. He dropped Li with a left hand in the first round, moved into top position and achieved full mount before battering “The Leech” with ground-and-pound, advancing to the back and hunting the choke. Cut by an inadvertent head butt early in the middle stanza, Matthews bit down on a tight guillotine choke. A desperate Li freed himself by blatantly gouging his adversary’s eye, though no point was deducted. Matthews kept his cool, switched gears in the third round and chopped down Li with a right cross. He polished off the win with a takedown in the waning moments, as he was credited with more than three minutes of control time by the time it was over. The 15-minute encounter resulted in $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses for both men.

Sean Brady

The unbeaten former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder put away Matthews with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their UFC 259 welterweight prelim on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 3:28 into Round 3. Brady navigated a brief brush with adversity in the first round, where his Australian counterpart caught one of his kicks, bloodied his nose with a right hand and drove him to the mat. From there, however, the rout was on. Brady assumed top position and applied suffocating control, establishing his clear dominance on the ground. Matthews surrendered takedowns in the second and third rounds, wound up pinned to the mat and retreated to a defensive shell. Brady softened him with punches in the third, framed the arm-triangle from half guard, cleared the legs and elicited the tapout. The Daniel Gracie protégé has since become a fixture in the Top 10 rankings at 170 pounds.