Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek

Round 1
Keeping to the 170-pound weight class, “The Celtic Kid” Matthews (15-4, 8-4 UFC) tries to hand Meek (9-4, 1 NC; 1-2 UFC) his third consecutive defeat and potentially his walking papers. Keeping charge of the cage will be referee John Sharp. They touch gloves, and Matthews snaps out a jab quickly but gets nailed with a nasty low kick that spins him around. Meek tries to brawl with some looping punches, but Matthews quickly changes levels and takes him down. The Aussie lands in half guard, and stays heavy on top while Meek holds on tight to seek a referee standup. Matthews tries to pull his head free, but Meek has underhooks off his back and muscles Matthews back down. Meek bails on his controlling posture to walk his way back to the fence, and stands back up only to absorb an elbow as Matthews backs away. “Valhalla” throws a heavy leg kick and then whiffs on some big looping punches, and Matthews is quickly advancing. Meek comes forward, and Matthews hits him with an uppercut that would put Priscilla Cachoeira’s to shame from earlier tonight, and it is too bad we already made a Mortal Kombat reference -- the uppercut actually lifts Meek off his feet and plants him on his back as if he were part of a cinematic fighting sequence. Matthews chases him down and stays in full guard while he works over Meek with ground-and-pound. Meek gathers himself and spams elbows from his back, but the strikes to the body and head from Matthews are far more impactful. Meek wriggles his way towards the fence as the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Matthews
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Matthews
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Matthews

Round 2
A touch of gloves clocks in the second round, and Matthews comes out firing and lands a heavy right hand. He attempts to replicate the success of the previous round with a thunderous uppercut, but this one does not have the same effect. Matthews steps back, plants a knee on the jaw of his opponent, and the Norwegian fighter eats it like it is Farikal and is ready to brawl. He slings leather, but gives up the takedown quickly. As Meek scrambles, he inadvertently gives up his back, and Matthews gets his hooks in almost immediately. Fishing for a choke, Meek is able to protect himself because the fence is directly behind him, so Matthews will not have leverage or angle from this position. Meek fights the hands and protects his neck, but Matthews has him nullified at the moment. The position is a stalemate, and although Meek considers spinning about and throws punches from behind his head, neither strategy proves successful as time ticks off the clock rapidly. Meek explodes from the position and pops back up, only to lift up two ferocious knees that almost pick his opponent up off the ground as well. Meek unleashes a barrage, and Matthews counters with a spinning back elbow as Meek roars. The Aussie times some looping strikes to hit a double leg takedown and slow the berserker rage of his opponent. Meek walks his way back to the fence, and although Matthews is tight on him, Meek walks up the wall and defends a back take. He gets free, and swings wildly as Matthews comes in with a flying knee, falls over, and the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Matthews
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Matthews
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Matthews

Round 3
The two greet with one final glove touch, and Matthews leads with a jab. The Aussie takes a leg kick, and throws a few right hands as he ducks down to avoid the counters. Meek lands another leg kick and Matthews turns his leg around to avoid the brunt of the damage, but they are adding up. Matthews sneaks in a left, and eats a few punches before coming back at Meek. The movement may be slightly hampered for Matthews because of those leg kicks, and as Meek goes after another, Matthews picks his leg up to avoid the strike. Meek smiles, knowing his strikes are effective. Matthews shoots low with a telegraphed takedown attempt from across the cage, and Meek stuffs it, threatens a choke, and the two back off. Matthews whiffs on a few punches, and Meek is on him with a swarm of strikes as Matthews dances away. The calf kick scores for Meek, and Matthews winces and blocks a head kick that immediately follows. Meek throws a head kick with his other leg, and the Aussie has no issue defending that one as well. Meek strings a few punches together, and Matthews rushes forward to take the fight down, but this time he cannot land it. Meek comes after him with a flurry, and Matthews drops low to pursue a single leg takedown. “Valhalla” defends it with elbows popularized by Travis Browne when the heavyweight leveled Josh Barnett. Matthews does not like these and stands back up, attempts a trip, and is once more thwarted. Meek senses that his adversary is fatigued, and throws up a few knees while Matthews ducks away. Meek loops punches at him, and shouts at Matthews to engage with him. The two clinch, and both land elbows as Meek throws everything he has at him. Meek lands a few short uppercuts and knees in the clinch, and runs at Matthews with a flying knee in the final seconds and manages to land it somehow. The horn sounds as Meek is throwing punches at the side of his foe’s head, and he continues to throw them until the referee separates the two. An enraged, or possibly excited Meek unleashes an emotional scream at the end of the fight, and he might be on the wrong end of the scorecards on this one. Both men speak and embrace in the post-fight interview, and both thank the promotion for putting this fun fight together.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Meek (29-28 Matthews)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Meek (29-28 Matthews)
Tudor Leonte scores the round: 10-9 Meek (29-28 Matthews)

The Official Result
Jake Matthews def. Emil Meek via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)