UFC on ABC 5 this Saturday night presents a great chance for Josh Emmett to make an impact and headlines as the card airs live on ABC and streams on ESPN+. Emmett is in the main event vs. Ilia Topuria.
UFC On ABC 5 A Tremendous Chance For Josh Emmett
Josh Emmett worked his way up the featherweight ladder before in the UFC. And now, he is doing it all again.
Emmett headlines UFC on ABC 5 from Jacksonville, Florida and the VyStar Veterans Memorial Auditorium this Saturday night. Along with his match vs. Ilia Topuria airing live on ABC, it will also stream out on ESPN+.
That presents a lot of eyes to catch the skills of the former interim title contender.
Emmett won five straight bouts from 2019-22 to earn his shot at the interim championship this past February. However, he was submitted by Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284 in the second round.
Overall, he has fallen just three times, with all three coming inside the Octagon. His first defeat was to Desmond Green via split decision in 2017 with Jeremy Stephens finishing him in 2018 in the second round.
Between those fights, though, Emmett has picked up 18 wins including victories over Calvin Kattar, Dan Ige, Shane Burgos and Michael Johnson. Eight have come by way of knockout and two more by submission.
Becoming A Familiar Headline Name
This marks the third consecutive fight for Emmett that has him placed in either the main event or co-main event. His title fight with Rodriguez was the co-main event from Perth, Australia, while he battled Kattar over five rounds on ESPN last June.
His meeting with Stephens five years ago was also the headline fight on FOX.
In 2014, Emmett captured the West Coast FC lightweight title and two years later won the ISCF Pro California lightweight championship. The latter came with a third round finish of Christos Giagos.
Who Is Ilia Topuria?
His opponent, Topuria, is a rising contender from Germany who sits at 13-0 overall and 5-0 in the UFC. This past December in his return to featherweight, Topuria submitted Bryce Mitchell.
He owns eight submission wins and four more knockout victories, with each of his last four fights ending before the start of the third round. He knocked out Ryan Hall in 2021 and did the same to Jai Herbert at lightweight.
Prior to signing with the UFC, Topuria won the Mix Fight Events featherweight title and was in a bout to determine the Cage Warriors champion but missed weight.
