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Josh Emmett | Been There, Done That
Josh Emmett Faced A Who’s Who Of The Featherweight Division. Now, He’s Ready To Introduce A Surging Contender To The Deep Waters
This isn’t Josh Emmett’s first rodeo. The veteran featherweight contender has been lining them up and knocking them down for the past 10 years and holds the all-time UFC record for knockdowns in the 145-pound division. On Saturday night, he plans on showing that he’s still a formidable test as he welcomes Kevin Vallejos to the upper echelon of the 145-pound division.
Emmett and Vallejos will do battle over five rounds in the main event at Meta APEX in Las Vegas in a matchup that pits a stalwart of the division against a young, dynamic up-and-comer looking to claim a big scalp.
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Chatting to UFC.com during fight week, Emmett admitted it’s a test he relishes, and he warned that he doesn’t plan on relinquishing his spot in the rankings to anyone.
“It's a great fight,” he said. “I'm excited that I'm fighting someone that wants to stand there and trade with me, so I'm looking forward to it. He's a young, up and coming prospect, and says he has some of the best striking out there and the best boxing and, yeah, we'll see.”
Josh Emmett | Top Finishes
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Josh Emmett | Top Finishes
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Vallejos made it onto the UFC roster with his second appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series ending with a first-round knockout victory. Since then, he’s fought three times, sandwiching a decision win over Danny Silva with knockouts of Seung Woo Choi and, most recently, Giga Chikadze.
Now he’s been given a shot at one of the most tenured and dangerous, featherweights in the UFC. Emmett said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from the Argentine prospect so far, but that won’t stop him from handing him his first UFC defeat on Saturday night.
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“I think Kevin's doing really well,” he said. “He had a few fights on the Contender Series, and then he's 3-0 in the UFC, he’s undefeated, he has a whole country backing him. Yeah, he's done well. What can I say bad? He's had great performances, and they're trying to test him, and he's trying to build a name off of me, and I'm not going to let that happen.”
As a seasoned veteran of the division, Emmett has seen most things in the sport, and he’s well-versed in what it takes to handle pressure on the big stage. With Saturday night being the first UFC main event for Vallejos, Emmett said the Argentine will experience that level of pressure for the very first time – and not everyone copes well with it.
“Sometimes it's a blessing and a curse, just because you have so much confidence and you feel like you're indestructible,” he said. “And sometimes that can hinder you. We'll see. He may have a lot of pressure on him. This is his first main event, and this is just business for me. I've been here, done it, fought the who's who, fought the best in the world. And, yeah, I'm excited for Saturday.”
At the age of 41, Emmett is continuing his fight career with clear goals still to accomplish. Fighting is what puts food on the table for his family, and all the while he still possesses the knockout power we’ve seen from him through his career, he still views a path towards a late-career title opportunity.
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“My main motivations are: I’m just trying to set up, first and foremost, myself, my wife, my family, for success,” he explained. “I still have the same mindset, like I want to be a world champion, so that's what drives me.
“I’ve found new energy just with my last camp, and then building off of that with this camp – just energy. I'm having fun again. I'm excited, and, you know, I'll choose experience all day over anything. I can hang with the best in the world. And now I'm getting to back to where I was at, just enjoying this and enjoying the process, and my run starts on Saturday night.”
On paper, this is a matchup between the 11th- and 14th-ranked featherweight contenders, but Emmett made clear the rankings don’t play into his thought process at all. All he’s focused on is delivering on fight night and proving that Vallejos isn’t ready to swim with the division’s big fish just yet.
“The rankings are all b.s., you know what I mean? I don't know who the hell makes these rankings, but yeah, I don't understand the MMA math on these but yeah, it doesn't matter,” he said. “I just got to go out there and I got to perform. I just have to win. At the end of the day, if you're not winning, none of this matters. So, I'm just solely focused on Kevin. I'm solely focused on getting my hand raised, and I'll do whatever it takes to get my hand raised.
“I'm going to take him into deep waters and show him what it's like.”
UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 14, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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