Stephens ties Silva record; stops Emmett for 2nd KO win of 2018
Featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens matched the longest winning streak of his UFC career in the Fight Night main event at Amway Center in Orlando, making it three straight with a second-round knockout of Josh Emmett. With the one recorded knockdown in the fight, Stephens ties Anderson SIlva's UFC record of 18 career knockdowns.
"And now we know who the hardest-hitting 145er is," Stephens said. "No disrespect, Josh Emmett put me down on my butt. I had to get my wits back, but you cannot break me. I’m unbreakable".
Emmett let Stephens lead the dance to start the bout, hoping to catch the veteran with a fight-ending counter. Emmett did some good offensive work, making brief scoring rushes before darting back out. With two minutes left, Stephens began scoring, but with 1:15 left, Emmett got his counter, dropping the Iowan with a short right hand. Stephens recovered quickly and got back to his feet, but the message had been sent.
Unfortunately for Emmett, Stephens disregarded that message and kept the forward pressure up in round two, and in the second minute, a left hook put the Californian down. Stephens moved in for the finish, and while he landed two blows to the back of the head as Emmett tried to get up and threw a knee that appeared to graze his downed foe, the fouls were not called and Stephens kept throwing, with there being no controversy about the final elbow that brought in referee Dan Miragliotta to halt the fight at 1:35 of the second round.
With the win, the No. 8-ranked Stephens lifts his record 28-14. The No. 4-ranked Emmett falls to 13-2.
