Jake Matthews Fighting Off Nerves to Get the Win at UFC Fight Night 121

Jake Matthews spoke following his win over Bojan Velickovic at UFC Fight Night 121 on Saturday night. The highlights from the interview are below, per MMAjunkie:

On his mental state going into the fight: “It’s obviously good to get the win. I was very nervous before this fight after the last two losses. I knew I had to get the win, but the nerves had shut me down a bit. It wasn’t the best fight. I pretty much flipped the game plan around.”

On keeping himself focused: “I was just harboring a lot of emotion. I couldn’t even look at the crowd walking out because I would start crying. To be fighting in Australia, back in the octagon after 12 months out, I could hear all my friends and family – it was good.”

On sticking with welterweight: “I’ve still got a good 12 months before I probably get up to a proper welterweight size. I went 7-0 as a welterweight (before I came to the UFC), and I was walking around probably at 165 pounds back then – weighing in in pants and with phones in my pocket just to seem bigger. Obviously, welterweight in the UFC is a little different. I was just testing the waters (Saturday), but I’m just happy to get a win. I got a little bit sick after the last one cutting that much weight, so I felt a lot better this time.”