Welterweights Jake Matthews and Francisco Prado kicked off the Pay-Per-View main card at Saturday’s UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia.
The fight found Matthews, who had practically grown up in the promotion after joining as a fresh-faced 19-year old in 2014 following a stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Nations, looking to build off a win over Phil Rowe last time out. Now 30, Matthews was facing Francisco Prado, with all of three fights under the UFC banner – though two had seen him pick up post-fight bonuses.
Both fighters met in the middle of the cage with Matthews landing a jab to start things off. Prado crashed forward throwing wild overhand shots, as Matthews circled away. Prado initiated the clinch but was met with powerful uppercuts that quickly got his attention. Matthews began pushing the pace and timed a nice left hook that connected clean. Prado was able to land a takedown against the cage with a trip from the clinch, before Matthews returned to his feet. The volume of Matthews gave him an edge in the opening round, as Prado was loading up on one shot at a time.
Matthews pressed forward in round two and landed good shots to the body in the opening minute. Prado began leaking blood from his nose but fired back with big knees in the clinch. Matthews regained composure and started to walk Prado down again. Prado entered in on a takedown attempted and pushed Matthews to the fence. With less than a minute remaining in the round Matthews landed again to the body of his opponent. Prado was seemingly down two rounds with a significant cut over his eye to deal with.
Each fighter started cautiously in the third round with Matthews looking to time lead left hooks as Prado entered into range. Matthews defended well against a takedown as Prado tried to get the fight to the ground. After 15 hard fought minutes Matthews had out-landed Prado 99-64 in total strikes.
All three judges scored the fight unanimously for Matthews, who picked up a win in his home country. In his post fight interview the normally mild mannered Matthews called out UFC Welterweight vet Neil Magny.
Official Result: Jake Matthews def. Francisco Prado by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
