Jake Matthews MMA: Everything you need to know about Australia’s fighting sensation set to throw down at UFC 291

Jake Matthews is one of the most exciting fighting talents to come out of Australia in recent years. Over time, Matthews has become a staple of the UFC welterweight division and has produced memorable performances. He is set to entertain fight fans once again at UFC 291 as he goes up against newcomer Darrius Flowers in a short-notice fight.

Matthews hails from Melbourne, Australia, and trains at the XLR8 Training Centre. His journey in MMA has similar beginnings to UFC’s pound-for-pound king and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Matthews started as an Australian football player and represented Northern Knights. He begin training in MMA during the off-season to stay fit and mostly trained with his father and younger brother.

Jake Matthews made his MMA debut in the local promotion Shamrock Events in 2012 and continued to fight in the regional scene until 2014. He amassed an undefeated 7-0 record and even made it into the semi-finals of the Australian Fighting Championships’ welterweight tournament semi-final.

‘The Celtic Kid’s first encounter with the UFC came about in 2013 when he represented Australia in The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Australia vs Canada. However, he lost to Olivier-Aubin Mercier and was subsequently eliminated.

Following a win in AFC, the UFC signed Matthews and in spite of having competed in the welterweight division so far, he made his UFC debut in the lightweight division. The 28-year-old found mixed success in the division and decided to move back to 170lbs weight class after back-to-back losses against Kevin Lee and Andrew Holbrook.

Jake Matthews has competed against respectable opposition like James Vick, Lee, Li Jingliang, Diego Sanchez, and Sean Brady. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Matthew Semelsberger in his last fight. ‘The Celtic Kid’ was scheduled to compete against Gabe Green in his last outing. However, he was forced out of the fight due to an injury.

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Jake Matthews returns to the UFC octagon at UFC 291

Seven months after his last fight, Jake Matthews is finally set to make a comeback to the UFC octagon at UFC 291 pay-per-view event. He was originally scheduled to fight Miguel Baeza on the preliminary card. However, Baeza pulled out of the fight due to unknown reasons. Newcomer Darrius Flowers stepped up to save Jake Matthews a payday and the fight was booked.

UFC 291 will take place on July 29, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be headlined by a BMF title fight between former interim lightweight champions Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje,

Given the fan following and mass appeal of the headlining fighters, the event is likely to draw a lot of eyeballs. Therefore it will be a great opportunity for Jake Matthews and other undercard fighters to showcase their talent and take the next step in their fighting careers.