Josh Emmett

Overview

Josh Emmett has won 10 UFC fights, and 6 of them went to the scorecards. Yet all four of his finishes are knockouts, and three came in the first round.

The Featherweight from Phoenix, Arizona, fights out of Team Alpha Male (Urijah Faber's Ultimate Fitness). He debuted in the UFC in May 2016 and holds a 10-7 UFC record. His 19-7-0 professional record covers all promotions, not just the UFC. He is not a champion, and the recent results are the story: three straight losses going into his next fight.

UFC Career

Emmett opened with back-to-back decision wins over Jon Tuck and Scott Holtzman, then dropped a split decision to Desmond Green at UFC 210. He answered with a decision over Felipe Arantes and then the win that defined his early run: a first-round TKO of Ricardo Lamas at 4:33. Lamas is the one win over an elite opponent on his record.

His first main event, against Jeremy Stephens in February 2018, ended in a second-round TKO loss at 1:35. It started a long gap between knockouts, and he came back with a third-round TKO of Michael Johnson and a first-round finish of Mirsad Bektic. Wins over Shane Burgos and Dan Ige, both by unanimous decision, extended the run, and a five-round split decision over Calvin Kattar in a main event made it five straight. That remains his longest win streak.

Then the level of opposition caught up. Yair Rodriguez submitted him in Round 2 at UFC 284, and Ilia Topuria took a unanimous decision across five rounds. Emmett reset with a first-round TKO of Bryce Mitchell in 1:57, the fastest win of his UFC career.

Since then it has gone the other way. Lerone Murphy beat him by unanimous decision over five rounds, Youssef Zalal submitted him in 1:38 of Round 1, and Kevin Vallejos stopped him in Round 1 at 3:33 in a main event.

Three straight losses, two of them inside the first round.

Fighting Style

Emmett is a striker whose numbers are mixed. He is hard to hit cleanly, yet he still absorbs more strikes per minute than most fighters and lands at a lower accuracy than most. His output is about what you'd expect from a UFC fighter.

Grappling is not part of his game. He rarely shoots for takedowns and gets taken down more than most, and he almost never hunts for submissions. Two of his seven UFC losses came by submission.

All four of his UFC finishes are knockouts, and three of them came in Round 1. He has won six times by decision.

Notable Wins

• Ricardo Lamas — KO/TKO, Round 1 (4:33), UFC Fight Night: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos (2017)
• Calvin Kattar — split decision, Round 5, UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Emmett (2022)
• Bryce Mitchell — KO/TKO, Round 1 (1:57), UFC 296 (2023)
• Mirsad Bektic — KO/TKO, Round 1 (4:25), UFC Fight Night: De Randamie vs. Ladd (2019)

Quick Facts

• Division: Featherweight
• UFC record: 10-7
• Professional record (all promotions): 19-7-0
• UFC debut: May 2016
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'7" / 70"
• Team: Team Alpha Male (Urijah Faber's Ultimate Fitness)
• Born: Phoenix, AZ, United States