Josh Emmett reacts to UFC 276 seat snub, wants Alexander Volkanovski in Australia

Josh Emmett is willing to travel to the other side of the world if it means he can get the next shot at UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Emmett (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) thinks he’s the rightful No. 1 contender in the featherweight division after Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) dominated Max Holloway in their anticipated trilogy bout at UFC 276 on Saturday in Las Vegas. He’s been campaigning hard for the next shot after putting together a five-fight winning streak, but the promotion has not many commitments about who is on deck for “The Great.”

There are no lengths that Emmett won’t go to in order to secure the opportunity. Even if it means going to Volkanovski’s home soil, where he has yet to compete since becoming champion.

“I know he’s been wanting to fight in Australia,” Emmett told MMA Junkie Radio on Monday. “He gets to call the shots. They already know my answer. It would be an honor to fight Volkanovski. He is the best in the featherweight division and he is one of the pound-for-pound best, and that’s why I want to fight him. Because he’s the best, and I think I’m the best. There’s only one way to find out.”

The UFC has not signaled when a return to Australia might be on the books. It has not traveled to the continent since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but with Volkanovski and New Zealander Israel Adesanya currently holding UFC titles, it would be sensible for a return to happen sooner than later.

Volkanovski’s health will play a major part in the timeline for his next fight, though. The reigning titleholder thinks he broke his left hand in a lopsided unanimous decision win over Holloway, but Emmett said it should only take “six-to-eight weeks and he needs time for a training camp” for something to materialize. That could set up a late 2022 or early 2023 timeline, but Emmett said he has no issues with waiting however long it takes, so long as he gets the shot.

Other potential candidates to fight Volkanovski next include Yair Rodriguez if he can beat Brian Ortega at UFC on ABC 3 on July 16, Arnold Allen, Bryce Mitchell, or possibly even Henry Cejudo. There’s also a lot of talk from Volkanovski about moving up to the lightweight division in pursuit of a second belt.

Emmett, who is coming off a split decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC on ESPN 37 in June, thinks he should be the top choice of that bunch, and more so than anything, the Team Alpha Male product doesn’t like the idea of a jump to 155 pounds. He thinks a champion should only change weight classes when all the contenders are cleared out, and he said Volkanovski hasn’t beaten him yet.

“I know he was saying he cleaned out the division and I’m like, ‘Man, there’s one fight left before you cleaned out the division,’” Emmett said. “So that’s that. Let’s run that, then we’ll see what happens.”

Although Emmett, No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, was in attendance to watch No. 1-ranked Volkanovski beat Holloway at UFC 276, he did not have a very enjoyable night. His head coach and partial manager Urijah Faber told MMA Junkie on Sunday that his fighter had a “bad experience” at the event, because he was snubbed of a cageside seat and never acknowledged on the broadcast as an option for Volkanovski’s next fight.

Emmett was not quite as fired up as Faber when addressing the situation he was put through, and said he’s not expecting an apology from the UFC brass. The best way to make up for what happened, though, would be to give him the title shot.

“I’m not going to sit here and – Urijah knew what was going on,” Emmett said. “I was never going to say anything and I saw that thing last night and everyone was tagging me, then I see the interview. He’s just looking out for me. Of course, he was pissed. They don’t need to reach out to me. They don’t need to do anything. I was kind of pissed because I wanted to sit cageside and watch that fight close then like – I was on the floor then I was in the very back. Then a bunch of other things went on. It was just like a snowball effect I kept getting more pissed.”