UFC News & FeaturesWelterweights
Jake Matthews (18-6, 11-6 UFC) vs. Darrius Flowers (12-5-1, 0-0 UFC)ODDS: Matthews (-260), Flowers (+220)
Matthews’ UFC career has been full of false starts when it comes to the Australian making a true charge towards title contention, but “The Celtic Kid” is still somehow just 28 years old, so there is still room for a few more until one actually sticks. Matthews came to the UFC at just 19 years of age with the hopes that he could develop into a star for the promotion in Oceania, and while he showed plenty of potential as a standout grappler, he found himself hitting a physical ceiling for some flat losses at the tail end of 2016. After taking some time off to take care of some injuries, Matthews came back up a division at welterweight and looked absolutely massive compared to his previous form, raising some hopes that his body maturing could unlock a new level of success. Matthews still won much more often than he lost, but the results were still a bit uninspiring, if only because his skills had congealed into a well-rounded approach that was high on safety but low on dynamism. That made it a pleasant surprise when he absolutely ran over Andre Fialho, outboxing the Kill Cliff Fight Club rep handily ahead of a second-round finish in Matthews’ most electric performance in years. However, things wound up right back where they started after a December fight against Matthew Semelsberger. It was not a terrible performance, but Matthews never moved into second gear in a close fight that allowed Semelsberger to score the bigger moments and walk away with the narrow win. Matthews now looks to rebound against Flowers, who steps in on late notice for a UFC debut that has been anticipated since his win on Dana White’s Contender Series nearly a year ago. It will be interesting to see exactly where Flowers lands eventually in terms of weight class. A part-time middleweight prior to his UFC career, Flowers earned a contract at welterweight and was briefly slated for a UFC debut at lightweight prior to re-appearing here. There is a case to be made for any of the three divisions, as Flowers has the type of thickly built frame that makes him undersized in the larger divisions but means he might drain himself to make it to a lighter weight class. As a fighter, Flowers is at his best when he is willing to throw down on the feet, though he did manage to win DWCS fight via slam and a subsequent injury stoppage. That willingness to cause a car crash and make something happen could serve him well against an opponent as focused on patience and control as Matthews. With that said, what is quickly becoming Matthews’ default game of picking away at his opponent from range figures to work well thanks to his clear size advantage and Flowers not being particularly proven in deeper waters. The pick is Matthews via second-round stoppage.
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