LAS VEGAS – Jake Matthews wants to get a crack at the top 15 of the UFC’s welterweight division, and he believes a win in his next bout will get him just that.
Matthews returns to the octagon this weekend in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 232. Matthews (19-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) takes on unbeaten prospect Michael Morales. It’s a big welterweight bout given Matthews’ tenure and Morales’ (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) rise in the division. The Australian is confident a ranked opponent will be next for him, if victorious on Saturday.
“It’s the kind of fight where one of us is going to go on and fight a ranked opponent next, 100 percent,” Matthews told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 232 media day. “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 if I won those fights, I probably should’ve gotten a ranked opponent after, and I settled for someone who wasn’t ranked.
