His name may not be in the headlines as often as some other young fighters, but Jake Matthews is arguably one of the most talented fighters of the younger generation.
The 21-year-old from Australia has already fought four times in the UFC. His fight with Johnny Case this weekend at UFC: Brisbane will make it five for the Lightweight prospect.
Matthews never imagined that he would be fighting in the UFC before his 22nd birthday, let alone have a winning UFC record of 3-1 with three finishes.
“Ever since I first started my dream was to get to the UFC. Looking back I was realistically looking at my mid twenties to hopefully break into the UFC,” Matthews told Bloody Elbow.
Matthews is one of a couple of UFC fighters who are already earning their stripes in the Octagon in their early twenties.
“To be in the UFC at this age, I think it really enforces the new breed of fighters that everyone talks about. Young guys that started training young in all disciplines. It’s not just myself, it’s other like Paige VanZant, Sage Northcutt and a couple others. It’s sort of good to be leading that.”
While VanZant and Northcutt have had major success in the UFC from a promotional stand point, both fighters are coming off of tough losses. That still hasn’t stopped either fighter from attracting massive media attention and fan support. Matthews knows that his time in the spotlight will eventually come.
“It’s all about promotion in this sport. Everyone seems to like Sage and he’s a nice kid and he can fight. I’m not big on getting a hand from anyone, getting help climbing up the ranks. I like to do it on my own with hard work. It comes in time with winning fights and I’ll get there one day.”
Matthews has a tough test ahead of him this weekend as he takes on Johnny Case, who is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC. Matthews isn’t fazed by the challenge and even requested the match-up with Case.
“I asked to fight Johnny Case. I think stylistically he’s a good match-up for me. He’s really tough though, he’s 4-0 in the UFC, but I think I match up well with him. I think I have everything to gain in this fight. This could change everything if I win this fight.”
Matthews fights on the main card of UFC: Brisbane which features a headlining fight between Mark Hunt and Frank Mir. The main card begins at 10 pm EST on Fox Sports 1.