Akbarh Arreola

Jake Matthews vs. Akbarh Arreola

Round 1
The southpaw Arreola takes the center of the cage and sticks a left hand on Matthews’ body, then one upstairs. Matthews catches a left high kick and tries to run Arreola to the ground, but the Mexican keeps his balance and separates. Matthews dodges a whipping overhand left and this time succeeds in grabbing hold of Arreola to push him against the fence. “The Celtic Kid” pins Arreola with an underhook for a few seconds before the lightweights split again. Arreola sweeps Matthews’ back leg with a kick and knocks him to the ground, then catches him with a left hand on the way up. Matthews backs up to the fence and gets a left high kick on the ear, followed by a pair of punches from Arreola which put him on the mat. Arreola jumps on the kneeling Aussie’s back and sinks both hooks, then works for a rear-naked choke while Matthews tripods up and tries to escape out the back door. Arreola breaks his man back down to the ground and uses the hooks to flatten out Matthews for some ground-and-pound. Arreola briefly considers an armbar, then goes back to work on the RNC with under a minute left in the opening round. Matthews is burying his chin, defending well, and finally he slips out the back with 30 seconds to go. Matthews winds up in Arreola’s guard and goes wild with strikes, trying to finish or at least steal the round before time expires.

Sherdog Scores
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Arreola
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Arreola
Jeff Sherwood scores the round 10-9 Arreola

Round 2
Matthews floors Arreola with a blast double-leg takedown in the first 30 seconds and picks up right where he left off, trying to smash the Mexican unconscious with heavy ground strikes. An elbow slices Arreola above his right eye and punches rock his head from side to side as Matthews continues his assault. Two minutes into the round, Arreola’s face is lumped up and bloodied, but now Matthews’ offense begins to slow. It’s still one-way traffic for the Australian, as even his sporadic ground strikes are keeping Arreola on the defensive. Arreola continues to shift and twist underneath as the round ticks down, but he never looks close to escaping Matthews’ heavy top pressure.

Sherdog Scores
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-8 Matthews
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-8 Matthews
Jeff Sherwood scores the round 10-8 Matthews
The referee has a look at Arreola’s cut and swollen right eye between rounds and advises referee Greg Kleynjans to stop the fight. This one is all over.

The Official Result
Jake Matthews def. Akbarh Arreola via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) R2 5:00