Australian welterweight Jake Matthews had a couple of fights fall through this year, a rough patch for a fighter who prefers to fight three times every twelve months. That said, ahead of UFC Vegas 82, Matthews suggested that not knowing who he’s fighting wasn’t a problem.
“For me, it’s easy. A lot of fighters, they bloat up after the fight, they put weight on. For us, I train year-round,” Matthews (19-6) explained during this week’s UFC Vegas 82 media day. “I’m within fight fitness, I can be fight-fit within three or four weeks. So we’re always ready for a call-up, for short notice, whether we get a full training camp doesn’t really bother us.”
“And if a fight does fall through, again we’re not too fazed because we know we’re fit, we know when we get back home, keep doing what we’re doing, training two, three times every day all year round, and when the UFC comes calling, we can answer and jump in and take those short-notice fights.”
The UFC came calling with a big opportunity this time out. Jake Matthews has been paired up against Michael Morales in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 82. Morales is a perfect 14-0 to start his career, and “The Celtic Kid” believes the winner of their fight will be battling a ranked foe moving forward. That has him excited.
“It’s just excitement. Before I even knew it was a co-main event slot, it was the kind of fight where one of us is going to go on and fight a ranked opponent next, 100 percent. I’ve been in this situation a number of times throughout my career, so I know how to deal with it. I’ve had fights where I won those fights, I probably should have had a ranked opponent after, and I settled for someone who wasn’t ranked. We get the win this weekend, I’m going to sit and wait for a ranked opponent to accept, however long that takes.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 82 media day appearance by Jake Matthews above.
