Josh Emmett emerged with the win at UFC on ESPN 37 Saturday night and is finally in the featherweight title shot conversation.
After a careful first round, the two finally went at it with Kattar using his jab and range to land to pressure and score. Emmett connected with more power shots, using his own pressure to back up Kattar in the championship rounds.
The judges scored it 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 for Emmett.
New blood entering the top of the featherweight division in @JoshEmmettUFC 🙌 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/0dxTwSLkhr
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
The win likely leapfrogs Emmett (18-2-0) into the top five and the featherweight title conversation. He’s won five straight now and has some momentum. He asked for the winner of Holloway and Volkanovski, but White was non-comital in the post-fight press conference. Kattar (23-6-0) has now lost two of his last three contests.
After 5 rounds of main event action, @CalvinKattar and @JoshEmmettUFC win FOTN💰🙌 #UFCAustin
[ BTYB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/EuDHdclNfv
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
ALL 9 FINISHES received POTN bonuses tonight! 👏💰 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/sIcfByTKyx
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
Emmett and Kattar earned Fight of the Night, while Kevin Holland, Joaquin Buckley, Gregory Rodrigues, Adrian Yanez, Jeremiah Wells, Ricardo Ramos, Cody Stamann, Phil Hawes, and Roman Dolidze all earned performance of the night bonuses. Each fighter earned a $50,000 USD bonus.
White confirmed that he will not book Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon again. Also, veteran fighter Eddie Wineland retired after losing to Cody Stamann. He leaves MMA with a 24-16-1 record despite losing five of his last six fights.
Kenai Andrews checks in with his thoughts on the main card. In case you missed the prelims:
ROMAN DOLIDZE DEF. KYLE DAUKAUS VIA KO (KNEE AND PUNCHES) R1 1:13
PHIL HAWES DEF. DERON WINN VIA TKO (ELBOWS) R2 4:25
CODY STAMANN DEF. EDDIE WINELAND VIA TKO (PUNCHES) R1 0:59
MARIA OLIVEIRA DEF. GLORIA DE PAULA VIA SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
RICARDO RAMOS DEF. DANNY CHAVEZ VIA KO (SPINNING BACK ELBOW)
JEREMIAH WELLS DEF. COURT MCGEE KO (PUNCH) R1 1:34
NATALIA SILVA DEF. JASMINE JASUDAVICIUS VIA UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
MAIN CARD
ADRIAN YANEZ VS. TONY KELLEY
FIRST ROUND FINISH IN HIS HOME STATE!!! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/mDEMNTyH0Y
— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022
WINNER: ADRIAN YANEZ VIA TKO (PUNCHES) R1 3:49
JULIAN MARQUEZ (9-2-0) VS. GREGORY RODRIGUES (11-4-0)
ROBOCOP adding to the list of tonight's finishes! 📈 @Gregory_MMA just dominated in RD 1! 💪 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/XnUJ9u01dr
— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022
Andrews: Tough one to call. Marquez is a finisher but Rodrigues was robbed in his last fight and will want to leave no doubt this time but is fighting on short notice. I am going with Gregory to eke this one out.
Andrews Prediction: Gregory Rodrigues via UD
DAMIR ISMAGULOV VS. GURAM KUTATELADZE
Tonight's winner by majority decision, 🇰🇿 Damir Ismagulov! 💪 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/uE3CF5hZTa
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
WINNER: DAMIR ISMAGULOV VIA SD (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: DAMIR ISMAGULOV VIA UD
Andrews: Close fight, but Damir shone through.
JOAQUIN BUCKLEY VS. ALBERT DURAEV
By TKO, @NewMansa94 secured another win to add to this #UFCAustin madness! 😳 pic.twitter.com/wgyzQEI4Qd
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
WINNER JOAQUIN BUCKLEY VIA TKO (DOCTOR STOPPAGE) R2 5:00
ANDREWS PREDICTION: JOAQUIN BUCKLEY VIA UD
Andrews: Buckley was aggressive and sharp. I like it.
TIM MEANS VS. KEVIN HOLLAND
The slick striking got things to the ground, then @Trailblaze2Top sunk in the D'Arce 🙌 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/ABq6UZ501V
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
WINNER: KEVIN HOLLAND VIA SUBMISSION (D’ARCE CHOKE) R2 1:28
ANDREWS PREDICTION: KEVIN HOLLAND VIA TKO
Andrews: Means tried, but a determined and crafty Kevin Holland is always trouble.
MAIN EVENT
#4 CALVIN KATTAR VS. #7 JOSH EMMETT
Nothing but respect after 5 HARD-FOUGHT ROUNDS! 👏👏 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/uPH38q12f8
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
WINNER: JOSH EMMETT VIA SD (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: CALVIN KATTAR VIA UD
Andrews: Wow! This was a great night of fights. Salute to everyone on the card Tough luck to Kattar, but happy for Josh to finally break through. Let’s see if he can get the shot.
The next UFC event is UFC Vegas 57, which is scheduled for June 25 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main event is a lightweight contest that features Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot.
