UFC Fight Night 101 results: Biggest 'dog on card, Andrew Holbrook takes split from Jake Matthews

MELBOURNE, Australia – Andrew Holbrook came into his fight with Jake Matthews as a considerable underdog, but he left with a victory by the slimmest of margins.

In a battle that largely played out on the mat, Holbrook (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) did just enough to edge out Matthews (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) for a split-decision victory with scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.

The lightweight bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC Fight Night 101 event at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For Holbrook, the strategy was clear early on. While Matthews wanted to use his speed and athleticism, Holbrook wanted to slow the fight into a grueling grind that would favor his grappling-heavy style. In that he was largely successful, though not without some help from Matthews, who seemed to have been slowed by a foot injury early on.

Matthews certainly had his moments. His striking looked dangerous early in the fight, and his raw ability allowed him to negate some of his own mental errors in a few initial scrambles. But as Holbrook settled in, he began to grind away at Matthews, forcing him into a defensive mode as he fought off one submission attempt after another, with any chance of launching his own offense slipping away from him.

Headed into the final round, Matthews couldn’t seem to summon the necessary urgency, and in fact played right into Holbrook’s hands with a late takedown attempt. With his corner screaming at him to get up, Matthews instead because mired in another ground battle that ultimately didn’t favor him, and he paid for it with a split-decision loss in a very close fight.

Holbrook’s victory gets him back in the win column after suffering the first loss of his pro career in June. Matthews has lost two straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 101 results include:

• Andrew Holbrook def. Jake Matthews via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Omari Akhmedov def. Kyle Noke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Alex Volkanovski def. Yusuke Kasuya via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:06
• Tyson Pedro def. Khalil Rountree via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:07
• Danielle Taylor def. Seo Hee Ham via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Daniel Kelly def. Chris Camozzi via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
• Damien Brown def. Jon Tuck via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jonathan Meunier def. Richard Walsh via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ben Nguyen def. Geane Herrera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• Jason Knight def. Dan Hooker via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
• Marlon Vera def. Ning Guangyou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jenel Lausa def. Yao Zhikui via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Melbourne.)