What’s Next For Josh Emmett?

UFC Jacksonville blew the roof off VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday (June 24, 2023) in Jacksonville, Fla., leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Amanda Ribas, who was bused up by Maycee Barber before suffering a second-round technical knockout (TKO) defeat (highlights).

And Gabriel Santos, who was knocked out by David Onama in the very first round. And let’s not forget about Bruno Silva, who became the latest victim of Brendan Allen’s devastating rear-naked choke. But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Josh Emmett.

Coming into his headlining bout against Ilia Topuria, Emmett was looking to get back on track and erase the memory of his submission loss to Yair Rodriguez in an interim Featherweight title fight at UFC 284. That loss snapped his five-fight win streak.

But things took a turn for the worse for the hard-hitting 145-pounder, who simply couldn’t fire off enough offense to pick up much momentum against the Spaniard. But it had more to do with Topuria’s attack, which was tight and clean throughout the 25-minute fight. Once Topuria busted Emmett open, it was simply downhill.

For the duration of the bout, Topuria battered and bruised Emmett, who showed great heart despite getting outclassed for the entirety of the fight. “El Matador” was looking for the finish and seemed to be close on a couple of occasions, but Emmett gutted it through and made it to the finish line.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

One thing that can not be questioned is Emmett’s toughness, who kept on fighting despite his left eye being nearly shut. In the fifth round, he came out swinging haymakers looking for the Hail May knockout punch, but it never came. Despite his best efforts, Emmett was simply outclassed by an undefeated fighter who was on top of his game.

At 38 years of age and on the heels of two tough losses, Emmett will likely take some time off to heal his wounds. That said, I do not anticipate him calling it a day despite his age and recent woes.

When Emmett does return to action, he does have some intriguing matchups that could be waiting for him, including one against Giga Chikadze, who is coming off a loss to Calvin Kattar. If not, then perhaps a showdown against Bryce Mitchell, who is also coming off a loss to Topuria, would be better suited.

Of course, it all depends on how long of a break Emmett opts to take following his latest crushing setback.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

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