By MARTY BALL
sports@beeherald.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor and Jefferson native Johnny “Hollywood” Case will be back in action this Saturday, March 19 when the 26-year-old does battle with Jake “The Celtic Kid” Matthews, a 21-year-old Australian native (Melbourne) during the main card of UFC Fight Night 85. The bout will be held in Matthews’ backyard, inside the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia.
Case comes into the lightweight fight with a 22-4 (4-0 UFC) record, while Matthews steps into the octagon with a 10-1 (3-1 UFC) resume. Johnny’s key victories up to this point have been over Yan Cabral (Nov. 7, 2015) and Kazuki Tokudome (Sept. 20, 2015), while Jake’s top wins have come over Akbarh Arreola (Nov. 15, 2015) and Vagner Rocha (Nov. 7, 2014). The Celtic Kid’s lone UFC loss took place May 9, 2015 at the hands of James Vick via a first-round submission.
Case’s strong points: well-rounded fighter, experienced wrestler, great finishing instinct, 18 out of 22 wins have come by some form of stoppage, loves to come into any fight as the visitor.
Matthews’ strong points: incredible athlete, strong grappling skills, dominant ground striking, successful in his submission attempts, fighting in front of a large home crowd.
The main card of UFC Fight Night 85 is set to air on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) Saturday evening beginning around 9 p.m. central standard time.