Josh Emmett Ready for Active 2019 Campaign After Spending Past Year on Sidelines

With time winding down in the third round at UFC on ESPN 2, Josh Emmett needed to do something drastic in order to win.

Emmett was down two rounds to none on the majority of the scorecards – both official and unofficial – against perennial contender Michael Johnson. He was getting beaten to the punch and kick often, and the Team Alpha Male fighter just couldn’t get things going. With time ticking away, Emmett had to do something monumental.

Good thing he has dynamite in his right hand.

Johnson was sticking to his game plan and was about to win a unanimous decision until Emmett unleashed one of the most sinister right hands of the year. Johnson didn’t do anything wrong; Emmett just detonated his fist on Johnson’s jaw. It was perfect timing with the perfect punch and once it connected, Johnson was toast. Emmett knew he had to unfurl hell and he knew if he did, he’d prevail.

  “I thought the first was close and he got the second,” Emmett said after his victory. “My coaches told me I needed to let it go in the third. I work with a mind coach and before the fight he asked how I saw the fight going. I said I was going to land a huge overhand right and he was going to go out stiff. I felt it was going to happen. I could see it and that’s what happened.”

It did. With about 45 seconds remaining in a fight he was losing, Emmett turned the tides permanently. Johnson fell stiff as a board, one of the best knockouts of the early year thus far. But even though Emmett had to pull off a come-from-behind knockout, the Californian said he knew he just had to stick to what his coaches trained him to do.

“I just needed to stick to the game plan and not rush it,” he said. “It’s been over 13 months since I fought. I didn’t really get back to training full-time until the start of the year. I just had to get a rhythm and I didn’t want to get reckless against such a tough veteran. I didn’t want to get caught with anything.”

Stuck in a loaded featherweight division, Emmett has plenty of options for his next opponent. Coming off a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens in February 2018 won’t do him any favors regarding a potential top-five opponent, regardless of how mesmerizing his finish of Johnson was on Saturday. He knows he will have to be patient and stay active.

“I’ll get back with my coaches and figure out what’s next,” he said. “I want to stay consistent and active. I feel great and want a few more fights this year.”