Joshua James Emmett (born March 4, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Emmett currently competes in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Emmett has also competed for

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

. As of November 8, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC featherweight rankings.

Background

Emmett was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, on March 4, 1985. He studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

in college with the intention of going into law enforcement and earned his Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree at

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

. Emmett wrestled for 14 years; beginning at

El Camino Fundamental High School El Camino Fundamental High School is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, near Sacramento. It is part of the San Juan Unified School District. Built in 1951 as El Camino High School, "Fundamental" was added to the name in the late 197 ...

and continuing through his college years. Emmett wrestled his first two seasons at the

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

level at Sacramento City College, before transferring to NAIA Menlo. After his collegiate career was over, he joined Urijah Faber's Ultimate Fitness to continue his desire in competing in combat sports. Emmett is also an accomplished

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

grappler, he won a world championship in the blue belt no-gi division.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

2011

After compiling an amateur record of 2–0, Emmett started his professional MMA career on October 8, 2011, and made his debut in Capitol Fighting Championship as a

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

. He broke his hand in the first round and continued with the fight and managed to earn his first win by unanimous decision. Emmett had surgery on his broken hand and had a 10 month lay off from competing. He returned to training to prepare for his next fight and broke the same hand on his last sparring session prior to the fight event which forced him to take another long break before returning to the cage.

2013

After his first professional win, he made a move to compete in West Coast Fighting Championship (WFC) and made his debut on August 3, 2013 against Mike Ryan, winning via guillotine choke in the first round. On November 16, 2013, Emmett faced Noah Schnable and defeated him in 45 seconds in round one with TKO (punches).

2014

Emmett's third opponent with West Coast Fighting Championship was Adin Duenas on February 15, 2014. He managed to secure a win via unanimous decision. Two months after the fight with Duenas, Emmett faced Tramain Smith at West Coast Fighting Championship 9. He won the fight via TKO (punches) in round one. On September 13, 2014, Emmett was up against Tony Rios and judges awarded a win with a unanimous decision in favor of Emmett. Emmett faced Brandon Ricetti on November 15, 2014, at West Coast Fighting Championship 12 in a five-round fight for the lightweight title belt. In the fifth round, Emmett loaded with punches, pressing Recetti to fall forward when Emmett hit Ricetti with a knee and Ricetti was KO. The fight was ruled a No Decision at first as Ricetti was grounded when he got kneed. However, the decision was overturned after a review of the incident and a win was awarded to Emmett via unanimous technical decision. Emmett was crowned WFC Lightweight Champion.

2015

After he secured the championship belt, Emmett didn't return to compete until almost one year later on October 3, 2015, at

KOTC King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

promotion, facing Rocky Johnson. Emmett showed off his submission skills and won the fight via arm-triangle choke.

2016

Emmett returned to fight in West Coast Fighting Championship promotion in Sacramento, CA, USA on Jan 23, 2016 against

Christos Giagos Christos Giagos (born January 23, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Giagos was born and raised in Southern California. Giagos co ...

, a former UFC fighter. Emmett secured a win via TKO at 2:21 of round 3 and also won the ISCF - International Sport Combat Federation (ISCF) Pro California Lightweight Title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After garnering a 9–0 record as a professional, Emmett signed with the UFC.

2016

Emmett made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement on May 8, 2016 against

Jon Tuck Jonathan Cruz Tuck (born August 28, 1984) is a Chamorro professional mixed martial artist. Tuck is the first Chamorro native from Guam to be signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and competes at the Lightweight division. His offi ...

UFC Fight Night 87 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 87'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 8, 2016, at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Background The event was the first that the organization hosted ...

, where he replaced an injured

Nick Hein Nick Hein (born April 24, 1984) is a German retired mixed martial artist and actor, who is best known for appearing in the German television show Diese Kaminskis. Before Hein became an actor, he was also a national judo champion and police offic ...

. Emmett suffered a compound fracture on his left right finger from catching Tuck's spinning back kick and the referee halted the fight briefly prior to restarting. Emmett secured a win with split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Emmett was expected to face

Jeremy Kennedy Jeremy Michael Fitz-Kennedy (born September 16, 1992) is a Canadian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. In addition to competing for Bellator, Kennedy has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting ...

on August 27, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 21 ''UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on August 27, 2016, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background This was ...

. However, Emmett was forced out of the event, due to an injury. On December 17, 2016, Emmett faced

Scott Holtzman Scott Holtzman (born September 30, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist Who most recently competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2012 to 2022, he formerly competed for the Xtrem ...

UFC on Fox 22 ''UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 22'') was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on December 17, 2016, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Background After pr ...

. The three round fight was a back and forth battle and judges awarded the win to Emmett via unanimous decision.

2017

Emmett faced promotional newcomer

Desmond Green Desmond Green (born October 11, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division for Ultimate Fighting Championship. Green is the current BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Middleweight and Police Gazette Diamond Belt cha ...

on April 8, 2017 at

UFC 210 ''UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 8, 2017, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Background The event was the second that the UFC has hosted in ...

. Emmett was out pointed by Green's striking and lost the fight via split decision of 29-28, 28-29, and 30-27. Emmett faced

Felipe Arantes Felipe Arantes (born 9 February 1988) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Arantes mostly fought in Brazil before signing with the UF ...

in a featherweight bout on October 21, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 118 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 118'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 21, 2017 at Ergo Arena in Gdańsk, Poland. Background This event was the fi ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Emmett dedicated this win to his friend's son, who has heart condition, at the age of 11 and has gone through an experimental surgery. Emmett faced

Ricardo Lamas Ricardo Alejandro Lamas (born May 21, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lamas' father is Cuban and his mother is Mexican. The flag ...

on December 16, 2017 at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos. At the weigh ins, Emmett weighed in at 148.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the featherweight upper limit of 146 pounds and the bout proceeded at a catchweight. Emmett forfeited 30% of his purse to Lamas. Emmett won the fight via knockout in the first round.

2018

Emmett faced

Jeremy Stephens Jeremy Stephens (born May 26, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2005, he spent 15 years and competed in 33 bouts in the UFC ...

UFC on Fox 28 ''UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 24, 2018, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. Background The even ...

, which took place on February 24, 2018 in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. Despite hurting Stephens in the first round, he lost the fight by knockout in the second round, after being hurt with an illegal knee and blows to the back of the head. As a result, Emmett was sidelined for the remainder of 2018, after undergoing successful surgery to correct facial injuries sustained during the Stephens fight.

2019

Emmett faced Michael Johnson on March 30, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 2 ''UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 30, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Backgr ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the third round. Emmett faced

Mirsad Bektić Mirsad Bektić (born February 16, 1991) is a Bosnian-born American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Background Mirsad Bektić was born on February ...

on July 13, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 155 ''UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 155'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 13'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 13, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

award.

2020

Emmett was expected to face Arnold Allen on January 25, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 166 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 166'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 24'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 25, 2020 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, ...

. However, Emmett pulled out the fight, citing an undisclosed injury, and he was replaced by

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin C ...

. Emmett was expected to face

Edson Barboza Edson Barboza Jr. (born January 21, 1986) is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has formerly competed at li ...

on May 2, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date. With one fight left on his contract, Emmett signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC. As the first fight of new prevailing contract, Emmett faced

Shane Burgos Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a sur ...

on June 20, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov. He won the bout via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the'' Fight of the Night'' award. Emmett was sidelined for the remainder of 2020 and most of 2021, recovering from a litany of injuries to his left leg sustained in the fight, including an ACL tear.

2021

Emmett faced

Dan Ige Daniel Alexander Ige (born August 6, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in UFC's Featherweight division. A professional since 2014, he has also competed for the Legacy Fighting Championship, Pancrase, the RFA, and Tita ...

on December 11, 2021 at

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

2022

Emmett faced

Calvin Kattar Calvin Kattar (born March 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2007, Kattar formerly competed ...

on June 18, 2022 in the main event at

UFC on ESPN 37 ''UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 37'' and ''UFC Austin'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 18, 2022 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, United ...

. He won the close bout via split decision. 14 of the 19 media members scored the fight in favor of Kattar. The bout was awarded the Fight of the Night award.

2023

Emmett is scheduled to face

Yair Rodríguez Yair Raziel Rodríguez Portillo (born October 6, 1992) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Rodríguez has been with the UFC since 2014 a ...

for the Interim UFC Featherweight Championship on February 12, 2023, at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promoti ...

Championships and awards

(One Time) ** Fight of the Night (Two Times) *West Coast Fighting Championship **WCFC Lightweight Champion (One time) **ISCF Pro California Lightweight Champion (One time)

Personal life

Emmett is married to his wife Vanessa.

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmett, Josh Living people 1985 births People from South San Francisco, California Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Sportspeople from Sacramento, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

2011

2013

2014

2015

2016

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Championships and awards

Personal life

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links