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After quick UFC Nashville submission win, Jake Matthews wants to hang out in top 15

After quick UFC Nashville submission win, Jake Matthews wants to hang out in top 15

USA Today21 hours ago
Jake Matthews met the media Saturday after his first-round submission win over Chidi Njokuani at UFC on ESPN 70.
Matthews (22-7 MMA, 15-7 UFC) made ultra-quick work of Njokuani (25-11 MMA, 5-4 UFC) and needed just 69 seconds to force his tap from a rear-naked choke on the prelims at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. After two decision wins in a row, Matthews said he was glad to get back to a finish.
And while his post-fight interview backstage with UFC.com only mentioned a desire to get a matchup in the welterweight top 15, when pressed for a callout in the cage, he kind of, sort of brought of a former title challenger.
"My coach would hate it if I didn't call out Gilbert Burns," Matthews told Daniel Cormier in the cage in his post-fight interview. "I took Michael Morales to a hard decision. None of these top 15 guys can stand with Michael Morales. I stood with him. I deserve to be in there with those boys, so if we can organize a top 15 (fight), I'll be there."
Burns has lost four straight fights to former champion Belal Muhammad, current champ Jack Della Maddalena, Sean Brady and, just two months ago, Morales – who finished Burns in the first round. That goes to the root of Matthews' callout, since his loss to Morales was a decision.
Check out Matthews' post-fight interview in the video below.
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