Jake Matthews Crushes Carlston Harris With Near-Flawless Performance At UFC Macau
Jake Matthews left little doubt about who was the better man at UFC Macau.
Returning to action after suffering a setback against Neil Magny last year, the Australian welterweight delivered one of the most complete performances of his career, dominating Carlston Harris across all three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory on Saturday at Galaxy Arena.
“The Celtic Kid” established control from the opening bell with sharp boxing and relentless forward pressure. Matthews repeatedly beat Harris to the punch during striking exchanges, landing clean combinations while expertly avoiding most of the returning fire. Although Harris found some success with leg kicks, he struggled to match Matthews’ pace and output throughout the opening frame.
The second round showcased another side of Matthews’ game.
After stuffing an early takedown attempt, the 31-year-old Aussie quickly found himself in dominant positions on the mat, advancing through side control and mount while threatening with multiple submissions. Matthews came close to securing both an arm-triangle choke and a kimura, forcing Harris into a defensive shell for much of the round.
Any hopes of a late comeback disappeared moments into the third.
Jake Matthews connected with a powerful strike that sent Harris crashing to the canvas before immediately taking top position. From there, he controlled the remainder of the fight with suffocating grappling, hunting for submissions while mixing in damaging ground-and-pound.
When the final horn sounded, the result was never in question. Two judges scored the contest 30-27, while a third turned in a 30-25 scorecard in favor of “The Celtic Kid”.
The victory snaps Jake Matthews’ losing skid and improves his UFC record to 16-8. He now owns a professional record of 23-8 and has won four of his last five outings inside the Octagon.
