There was once outcry over a UFC Nashville fighter’s victory, and color commentator Joe Rogan was amongst essentially the most vocal about it.
The Octagon is back in ‘Magic City’ for a UFC Fight Night at Bridgestone Arena on July 12, marking the promotion’s one stop-off en path to Louisiana for its next pay-per-view.
Heavyweight powerhouses Derrick Lewis and Tallison Teixeira are tasked with sending the UFC into one other PPV fight week on the back of a memorable night, because the latter looks to stop the all-time UFC knockout leader from extending his record.
Joining the likes of Stephen Thompson and Calvin Kattar as notable veterans on the undercard is Australian welterweight Jake Matthews. ‘Celtic Kid’ has recorded plenty of impressive wins on MMA’s biggest stage, but he can be generally known as the victim of certainly one of the dirtiest moves ever seen contained in the Octagon.
Joe Rogan was furious after Li Jingliang gouged Jake Matthews’ eyes
In February 2018, Matthews competed in front of his home fans in Perth at UFC 221, which was headlined by Yoel Romero’s brutal knockout against Luke Rockhold.
The 34-year-old faced and defeated Li Jingliang, who has since turn out to be a fan favorite. That may have been unlikely seven years ago, nonetheless, after his actions against Matthews.
In round two, the Aussie locked in a good guillotine choke. ‘The Leech’ combatted the move by egregiously gouging the eyes of Matthews, a move that in some way only resulted in a warning from the referee.
The incident caused fury within the MMA community, and longtime color commentator Joe Rogan gave his scathing assessment during an episode of his JRE MMA Show.
“I believed it was f—ing bulls–t,” Rogan said. “You possibly can’t let a man get away with that, or he’s going to do it again. … You don’t do it that way. You tap. It’s straight up cheating; it’s not only shady. It’s cheating.
“They need to tell him, ‘If this ever happens again, should you ever think you’re going to do that again, we’re going to kick you out of the league.’ You possibly can’t try this. You possibly can’t gouge someone’s eye after they’re choking you.
“It felt just like the fingers were in long enough for him to know the fingers were in there,” Rogan added. “The referee f—ed up. The UFC should do something. Someone should do something.
“You’ve got to take a look at that and go, ‘Hey man, you’ll be able to’t ever do that again. And we’ve to effective you. You ought to be suspended, and should you ever do that again, you’re out.’ You possibly can’t gouge someone’s eyes. They’ll lose their vision.”
Jake Matthews was permanently damaged by Li Jingliang’s dirty move
Unfortunately, Jingliang’s cheating against Matthews was not something the Australian fighter could simply forget.
The 30-year-old later revealed he had suffered everlasting eye damage consequently of the UFC 221 gouge.
“I’m sure you all keep in mind that time I got eye-gouged within the fight. Well, that is the aftermath of that,” Matthews said while displaying latest glasses in a video on Instagram.
“Just a fast message to the young blood entering into the game, this sport requires one hundred pc commitment and more often than not doesn’t give much back, and might take a toll in your body. So just understand that.
“I still find it irresistible. I’m still gonna keep fighting,” Matthews added. “To Jingliang, I really like ya, but (raises middle finger).”
That hasn’t stopped Matthews from entering the Octagon, and he’ll now look to make it three consecutive wins when he shares the cage with Chidi Njokuani at UFC Nashville.