Jake Matthews may refer to himself as the black sheep of MMA, but on Saturday night at UFC Macau, he looked like one of the most complete welterweights on the roster.

The Australian veteran dominated Carlston Harris from start to finish inside Galaxy Arena, securing a unanimous decision victory with a surprising 30-25 scorecard from one judge. It was the kind of performance that reminded fans why ‘The Celtic Kid’ has managed to stay relevant in one of the UFC’s toughest divisions for more than a decade.

Jake Matthews dominated almost every facet of the contest. Scores of 30-27, 30-27, and a massive 30-25 reflected just how one-sided the contest had become. On his feet, he consistently beat Carlston Harris to the punch and controlled the pace.

On the ground, he constantly blocked takedown attempts before taking dominant positions of his own. Whenever ‘Moçambique’ tried to get traction, Matthews seemed to have an answer ready. What made the performance even more impressive was how many opportunities ‘The Celtic Kid’ created to finish the fight.

He threatened with several submissions, including a mounted triangle, kimura, and arm-triangle choke. He also felled Harris late in the fight and spent long stretches in dominant positions unloading damage.

Yet the only criticism that could be directed at Jake Matthews is that he occasionally lacked the killer instinct needed to secure the stoppage. Several times, it appeared that Harris was about to be finished by the 31-year-old, but the Australian appeared content to maintain control rather than fully gamble on ending the fight.

Even though that approach guaranteed him the victory, fight fans for sure weren’t left impressed by this safe approach. In fact, they even questioned the judging and wondered how accurate it truly was.

Social media erupts in outrage against Jake Matthews’ 30-25 win at UFC Macau

The victory at UFC Macau itself wasn’t controversial. The scorecards were. Even if very few fans disputed that Jake Matthews clearly beat Carlston Harris, many fans were surely stunned when the judges returned a 30-25 scorecard alongside two 30-27s.

For a major portion of social media, the question was not who won the bout, but whether Matthews’ performance truly justified two separate 10-8 rounds. “30-25 is kinda wide. A 30-27 or 30-26 with a 10-8 in round 3 is ok. Not sure there were two 10-8s there,” one fan wrote.

Another simply added, “30-25 seems a bit wide tbh.” More chimed in with comments such as, “No way the judges handed him 30-25,” and “What stupid f— saw a 30-25 round?”

Others were even harsher towards ‘The Celtic Kid’ himself, criticising what they felt was a lack of urgency despite the dominant positions he repeatedly found. “No killer instinct from Jake Matthews, playing it safe against a late-notice opponent,” one fan posted.

Another wrote, “Jake Matthews has the fight-finishing IQ of a goldfish,” while one particularly brutal reaction read: “Shockingly low level of killer instinct from Jake Matthews. Had a corpse in front of him.”

Not everyone disagreed with the judges, however. “30-25 is absolutely insane; love to see a classic performance from Jake Matthews,” one supporter wrote, while another argued that “30-25 is somehow right.”

Ironically, Jake Matthews’ statements earlier this week about barely watching MMA do offer us a possible hypothesis on why he played so safely. After referring to himself as the “black sheep” of Australian MMA and confessing that he hadn’t seen a UFC bout in nearly a year, it seems that his lack of interest in the sport had dulled his finishing instinct.

“I’m the last person to ask about what’s going on in the UFC at the moment,” he told Wide World of Sports. “I haven’t watched a fight for about 12 months. I’m definitely a black sheep in that regard, not just in Aussie MMA but in general.”

Either way, he did end up getting back on the winning side after getting submitted by Neil Magny last year. And to be fair, the dominant win did end up creating buzz on social media. Even if it is against the scoring and the disappointing lack of a finish, Jake Matthews surely left fans talking about his fight at UFC Macau.