This is an odd bit of matchmaking, though it should result in some
fun. Matthews made his UFC debut in 2014 at just 19 years old, and
the hope was that “The Celtic Kid” could build on his success as a
wrestler and grappler to become one of the promotion’s Australian
stars. Matthews certainly has not been a prospect bust, but he has
instead rounded into a solid but unspectacular fighter, hitting a
few different plateaus before settling in as a solid welterweight.
Matthews has won a lot more than he has lost inside the Octagon,
but with an approach built around steadiness and safety, he has
usually become a bit of an afterthought. Even when given a blank
slate like late-career Diego
Sanchez as an opponent, Matthews settled in for a comfortable
decision victory rather than bringing any sort of exciting dynamism
to the table. That made Matthews’ June win over Andre
Fialho such a pleasant surprise. Fialho was far from a walkover
opponent, and Matthews actually did well to press his advantages
and build on his success, putting him away with an electric
second-round finish that brought the Australian his most exciting
victory in years. It was enough to expect that Matthews might get
another shot at a ranked opponent, possibly on the February card in
his native Australia. Instead, he is back facing another raw
prospect and one coming off a loss in Semelsberger. That is no
slight against Semelsberger, as the Marylander is a talented
fighter in his own right, but he has clearly had to learn on the
job in the UFC after getting picked up as a raw talent in 2020. To
his credit, Semelsberger has obviously figured some things out when
given some tough matchmaking. He was in over his head against the
likes of Kalinn
Williams and Alex Morono,
in particular, but maintained his cardio and power over three
rounds while solving the issues in front of him. Semelsberger has
also made easy work of obvious wins when he has needed to with
sub-20 second knockouts of Jason Witt
and Martin Sano,
so “Semi The Jedi” is definitely worth investing in; he just needs
time to develop that he is probably not going to get here. This
looks like a fight where Matthews should clearly separate himself
as the better fighter, but Semelsberger also presents enough
physical talent and danger that it probably will not be an
impressive victory. As such, it is unclear what this really does
for either fighter. The pick is Matthews via decision.
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