This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 105, we saw a big time matchup in the featherweight division between two top ten contenders. Josh Emmett (19-5) was looking to return with a big win and he was looking to become the first man to defeat top ten contender Lerone Murphy (16-0-1).
For Emmett, this was his first fight since December 2023 when he knocked Bryce Mitchell out cold. Emmett was looking to win his second in a row and start another run towards the featherweight title. While Emmett made the walk at 40 on Saturday night, he still believes he has it in him to become a world champion.
One thing I worried about for Emmett on Saturday was getting stuck on the outside and letting Murphy lead the striking dance from there. Emmett was able to get inside early and land big shots but from rounds 2-5, Murphy really controlled the distance well and landed more throughout.
I did wonder if Emmett would lean on his wrestling background and we saw that. He was able to land takedowns at UFC Vegas 105 and with that and his big shots, I had the fight 2-2 heading into the final round. However, Emmett wasn’t able to put it all together in the final round and Murphy landed the better shots ultimately leading him to winning the unanimous decision.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 105?
This is a big blow for Josh Emmett especially at this stage in his career. At 40-years-old, you don’t have a ton of time left in the fight game and he realizes that. He really needed this win to keep tracking towards another crack at UFC gold. However, this setback might have put the title forever out of reach.
That said, I don’t think he’s done and I think he’ll look to bounce back in a big way. In terms of what could be next for him, I like the idea of him facing Youssef Zalal next. Zalal is currently ranked 12th and he’s coming off a win against Calvin Kattar.
Zalal has a ton of momentum right now and it’s a good fight for both men. If Emmett wins, he regains his standing and can try one more time for the climb. For Zalal, he could get a huge win over a former interim title challenger which would catapult him into the top ten of the rankings.