Jake Matthews had the same dream as many young boys – to play AFL.
A talented young footballer with Epping, he showed enough skill to play with TAC Cup side the Northern Knights and was on the right track to achieve his dream.
A suggestion from his father to try another sport soon saw one dream fade and another take its place.
“I took up kick boxing classes and soon joined in other classes at the gym,” says Matthews.
His coach at the gym asked if he was up for a fight – that mixed martial arts bout changed everything.
“I had no expectations and I still wanted to play AFL at that stage,” says Matthews.
“I was 16 and my opponent was 24. The fight went the way I wanted it to. I knocked him out in the second round … it ignited my passion.
“If I had lost or not won convincingly, that would have been the end of it.”
Despite disappointing a lot of people with his decision to give up football, Matthews knows he made the right decision.
On Saturday, he will be on the under card of the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium when he will take on Mexican fighter Akbarh Arreola.
“I didn’t doubt my decision and my family was really supportive,” he says. “My mum has been in the front row of my 20 fights and my dad is my trainer.”
Arreola, 32, has a record of 23 wins, nine losses and a draw.
Matthews, who is known as “The Celtic Kid”, says it doesn’t come any bigger than a home-town fight in front of what is expected to be a world record UFC crowd.
Two of the best-known female fighters on the planet, Ronda Rousey (12-0-0) and Holly Holm (9-0-0), will contest the main event.
Matthews has had UFC bouts in Auckland, Sydney and Adelaide – but this week’s Melbourne fight will top them all.
“This fight card is one of the biggest cards ever and it’s in my home town,” he says.
“It’s something all fighters dream about.”
The 21-year-old has come a long way since his first fight when he was 16.
“I had 10 fights as an amateur ,” he says. “I had my first pro fight two weeks after turning 18.”
Next came a stint on TV series The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs Australia, on which he was eliminated in the opening round.
JAKE MATTHEWS WITH FELLOW FIGHTER DANIEL KELLY.
“I came back home to keep fighting and show what I can really do,” he says.
After one fight for one win upon returning, UFC came calling.
“It was super exciting,.”
After winning his first two UFC fights, Matthews lost his third – the first defeat of his 20-fight career.
“You are going to lose eventually,” he says. “It does give you motivation.”
Matthews and his father, Mick, run XLR8 Training Centre in Epping, which teaches martial arts.
“It’s a good feeling to be able to spend every day with dad training,” he says. “We’ve found a way to make it work.
“When we are training, he is coach – but when we are relaxing he is dad. I’ve won 19 fights out of 20, so it’s working.”
Matthews won’t be the only local in action on Saturday – Westmeadows’ Dan Kelly will fight American Steve Montgomery.
“You’d be silly not to enjoy the moment,” says Kelly.
“This is a massive event for Australia and for the UFC and Melbourne – and I’m going to enjoy it for sure.
“I’m on the third fight and hopefully I’ll be celebrating, kicking back and watching the rest of the card.”
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