UFC announces pair of welterweight bouts for UFC 221, including Jake Matthews vs. Li Jingliang

A pair of fighters from the Oceanic region will be putting in work in Perth this February.

On Monday, officials announced that Australia’s Jake Matthews will meet Li Jingliang, while New Zealand’s Luke Jumeau fights Daichi Abe at UFC 221. Both bouts will be contested at 170 pounds.

Matthews (11-3) recently returned to the welterweight division after going 4-3 as a lightweight inside the Octagon. The 23-year-old Victoria native defeated Bojan Velickovic by split decision this past November at UFC Sydney.

Opposing Matthews will be Jingliang (14-4), a winner of four consecutive fights. Three of those victories have come by way of knockout, including his most recent outing against Zak Ottow.

Jumeau (12-4) is coming off of his first setback in eight fights, a unanimous decision loss to Shinsho Anzai. He meets another Japanese fighter in Abe, a 26-year-old who is undefeated in six professional bouts including his UFC debut against Hyun Gyu Lim in September.

The Jumeau-Anzai fight was first reported by New Zealand’s Newshub.

UFC 221 takes place at the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 11. In the main event, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker looks for his first defense against former titleholder Luke Rockhold.