Jake Matthews says he almost apologized to Diego Sanchez during final moments of ground and pound

UFC welterweight Jake Matthews has admitted he almost apologized to Diego Sanchez in the final moments of their UFC 253 showdown.

Matthews was able to dominate the UFC veteran from pillar to post in a unanimous decision win that was scored 30-26 across the board. It took Matthews’ current winning streak to three in the Ultimate Fighting Championship with six wins in his last seven, compared to Sanchez who has actually won three of his last five.

The 26-year-old was pretty honest in the aftermath of a win that many consider to be one of the biggest of his career thus far – if only because of the name value that Sanchez holds.

“That last bit of ground and pound, I was this close to apologizing to him,” Matthews said MMA Junkie. “I’ve watched him since I was 11 years old. Between him and BJ 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.”

UFC president Dana White wasn’t shy when discussing what could be next for Sanchez after his latest defeat to Matthews.

“I love Diego Sanchez. And I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s something I need to think about and it’s obviously something I need to talk to the guys about back home when we get back to the office and see what everybody thinks,” White said after Sanchez lost to Matthews.

“I got these guys now — you got Diego Sanchez who fights his heart out every time he fights, he was part of TUF 1, everybody knows how I feel about those guys. And he’s just a great, great person. Then you got [Donald] ‘Cowboy’ [Cerrone], who you can say all the same things about. And you know, as these guys start to get older and start racking up loses, it’s tough. But Diego’s like, I don’t know for sure off the top of my head, but he’s won three of his last five or something like that. Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough. It’s the not-so-fun part of the job.”

Do you think Diego Sanchez should retire after his loss to Jake Matthews?