At UFC 259, Australian welterweight Jake Matthews will compete in his 15th UFC event when he faces unbeaten American Sean Brady. Matthews has won six out of his past seven fights, but at 26 is still younger than many fighters who are just entering the UFC.
“Yep, I started young,” says Matthews. “I decided I wanted to do this at age 16. It’s a funny story…”
The year was 2011 and teenage Jake had been training MMA for a couple of months to keep fit. It was a Tuesday night and his coach asked him if he’d like to fight on the Friday.