UFC Vegas 46: “World Class White Belt” Jake Collier Says People Don’t Realize How Good He Is on the Ground

Las Vegas, NV — Heavyweight Jake Collier started his 2022 in style at UFC Vegas 46, picking up a submission win over Chase Sherman.

Collier (13-6) earned himself a Performance of the Night bonus in the process on Saturday, and had plenty of praise for his opponent following the bout.

“Chase is a gamer, and we could have had a hell of a fight. But again, a win’s a win in the UFC, and he’s a tough dude. I’m glad I finished him,” Collier told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Things didn’t start out as expected for Collier on Saturday, he noted. “I felt weird, like I was throwing stuff, almost like brawling, and I’m like ‘what am I doing?’ And then he cracked me, and I was like ‘oh, okay, here we go.'” Collier had expected more of an aggressive start from Sherman. “He was kind of letting me dictate stuff. Which, that’s cool, it’s easier to fight walking forward than backwards.”

The end, however, came on the ground — not something UFC fans are used to seeing from Collier, who has been with the promotion since 2014. “That was definitely my first submission in the UFC. I’ve knocked people out, decision, and now submission. So that’s pretty cool,” he said, joking that “man, I’m a world class white belt. Never put on a Gi in my life. Never.”

But when it comes to his ground game, “I don’t think people realize how good I am on the ground,” Collier stated. “And that’s fine. If you want to go to the ground, we can go to the ground. I like to stand though. That’s why I loved the match-up with Chase.”

As for what’s next, Collier would love to fight the legendary Andrei Arlovski — though that may have to wait, as the ex-champ recently announced he was fighting at UFC 271.

Regardless of the name, “I want to stay active,” Collier said. “I’m tired of fighting two fights a year. Let’s keep it going. I’m not hurt, I don’t even know how long that fight was. I didn’t get touched much. March would be awesome for me.”

Looking at him now, it’s easy to forget that Collier’s UFC run started down not one, but two weight classes, at middleweight. 185lbs was never an easy cut for the Missouri native, however.

“I walked around about 235. I would get to like 205, and didn’t have nothing left, and I would suck my body down,” Collier told Cageside Press. “It was brutal.”

Watch the rest of Jake Collier’s UFC Vegas 46 post-fight interview above. More coverage can be found below.