Australia’s Jake Matthews beat Diego Sanchez via a very unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) at UFC 253 on Saturday night; at the post-fight press conference, “The Celtic Kid”: shared a description of the fight that was bittersweet.

That last bit of ground and pound, I was this close to apologizing to him,” revealed Matthews. “I’ve watched him since I was 11 years old. Between him and B.J. Penn, they’re two of my all-time favorites. I didn’t let it get to my head before the fight, but now it’s going to sink in and it’s crazy being able to beat a guy like that.

Now Matthews returns to Australia, and mandatory two week quarantine.

You don’t want to let this opportunity go, especially because when we get home we’ve got two weeks in hotel isolation,” he said. “I didn’t want to be sitting there, reading all of the hate messages on our Instagram. So it was good to get the win and it’s going to make the isolation that much more enjoyable. This camp was unlike any other. The fight week was unlike any other. Even the fight was different. We thrive in adversity, especially being Australian – we go through so much: bush fires, drought, Melbourne probably has the hardest restrictions in terms of the pandemic at the moment. So we managed to train through that, get fight ready and make our way here and get a win. 

So what’s next for Matthews?

I haven’t been the type to trash talk or call anyone out,” he said. “Every name the matchmakers have given me has excited me and it’s always been a good matchup for me. But the most exciting thing for me next is going home and giving my daughter a hug.

So Matthews is happy to take whoever is offered him. Diego’s future is more problematic.

h/t Matt Erickson and John Morgan for MMAjunkie