UFC Austin: Moody Center; Austin, Texas
There sometimes comes a time in an athlete’s career when the bridesmaid becomes the bride. Or at least gets the opportunity to walk down the aisle. That’s looking like the case in the UFC’s Featherweight division, as it appears Josh Emmett is nearing a title shot. And he made his stance clear post-fight to Daniel Cormier.
There’s a huge title fight in two weeks. I wanna be sitting cageside to see who I’m fighting next. Dana, give me my title shot.
But is it worthy on the stretch he’s on? That can easily be debated. Yes, after taking a split decision win over Calvin Kattar, he’s on a five-fight win streak. However, the last three are via the scorecards. And even though those fights were “fun”, they’re not finishes. Add in that second-ranked Brian Ortega and third-ranked Yair Rodriguez mix it up soon might have something to say about it. Plus he’s only fought once a year over the last three-years. Albeit due to injuries. It’s just not consistent enough to command a crack at the strap. He’s far from a money machine like Conor McGregor.
Emmett Nearing Title Shot, Or Is He
Emmett’s 37-years old. And although he’s in freak physical shape, the time is ticking for him. And to be fair the split decision win could have easily gone the other way. The threat of Emmett’s wrestling probably played into how the fight went (even though he went 0-4 on takedowns) for Kattar. And that wrestling pedigree and power against the likes of Ortega, and champion Alex Volkanski won’t be enough.
Emmett’s been the best of the second-tier fighters. Now that he’ll probably be in the Top-5 come Tuesday, holes need to be tightened up. Like leaving his chin exposed. He may sting Ortega in standup but once it goes to the ground, which it would, “T-City” would finish him. The output from Max Holloway is legendary, and the more you hit him, the more he presses you. The only argument that can be made where he’d most likely be favored is versus Rodriguez.
He may just be MMA’s version of ROGER MARIS. Really good, but just not overly special.
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