Josh Emmett tired of fighting behind him, wants a top-ranked opponent next

Since moving down to featherweight, Josh Emmett has been taking people out in emphatic fashion.

But after scoring back-to-back knockouts over Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic, Emmett (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) drew a tough but lesser known opponent in Arnold Allen.

Emmett had to withdraw from their matchup at UFC on ESPN+ 24 due to injury and was replaced by Nik Lentz, who was defeated by the in-form Englishman. Allen extended his winning streak to seven.

But despite Allen’s growing momentum in the UFC featherweight division, Emmett admits that he’s not too keen on rebooking the matchup.

“The Allen fight doesn’t really excite me,” Emmett told MMA Junkie. “The only reason I agreed to it was because (matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) said he was the only person available and I didn’t want to be iced any longer. I fought in March (2019) and July 2019 and finished two really tough opponents in devastating fashion after being sidelined for 13 months. I wanted to continue staying active and climbing the ranks, getting me closer to gold.”

Looking to return to action in the summer, Emmett hopes he can draw a higher-ranked featherweight who will help propel him toward title contention.

“I want to fight someone toward the top, so with another big win I’ll get a shot at what I’ve set out to do,” Emmett said. “I’m tired of fighting behind me and not getting the fights I want. Give me the opportunity and I’ll exceed expectations and rise to the occasion.”

Emmett has only competed as part of a pay-per-view card once. At UFC 210, he competed on the early prelims. Next time, he hopes to land a big fight with high card placement.

“I’m hoping to fight in May or June,” Emmett said. “It would be nice to fight on a big pay-per-view event on the main card instead of a ‘Fight Night’ or mobile app card for once.”