Josh Emmett, the long time Team Alpha Male product finally got the call back in May when he stepped in on short notice and took on Jon Tuck at UFC Rotterdam. Emmett extended his professional MMA record to 10-0 when he defeated the tough Jon Tuck via unanimous decision. Now he is scheduled to take on newcomer Jeremy Kennedy, August 27th in Vancouver.
Emmett took his first UFC fight on just 4 days notice and flew half way across the world to fulfill his longtime dream. He was training to defend his West Coast Fighting Lightweight Championship in the main event of WCF 17 when he got the call from the UFC. The fight went almost perfectly for Emmett until he suffered a horrific injury midway through the third and final round, dislocating his ring finger. He was visibly hurt but wasn’t going to let the injury ruin his performance.
“Tuck threw a wheel kick and I went to parry it,” Emmett described. “Instantly I felt a weird and painful sensation in my finger. I looked down and the bone was sticking out of my ring finger and the finger was just hanging there by the flesh but I wasn’t going to let a finger get in the way of my victory! I looked up at the clock and only had about 2 minutes left. I knew I could use my footwork and feints to keep him away for the remainder of the round. Tuck knew I was hurt within the last 30-45 seconds and that is when he started to put it on me but none of the shots hurt.”
He displayed very fluid striking and movement as he picked apart Tuck in all three rounds. It was at the 2:18 mark of the third round when the injury occurred, where he was defending and moving instead of attacking. The adversity didn’t faze Emmett who despite being a UFC newcomer, had been mentally preparing for this moment for years.
“I didn’t fly across the world and work my ass off for the last 10 years to accept defeat. I went there knowing I was going to win and most importantly I wanted to put on a good fight and show the world I belong in the UFC.”
Emmett accepted the fight without even knowing who the opponent was. In the biggest promotion in MMA, there’s no rejecting that small window of opportunity and even though the fight was half way across the world, there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to make the journey over.
“When I got the call from Joe Silva to fight in the UFC, it was a dream come true. I took the fight on very short notice (4 days) against a very tough opponent in Jon Tuck on the other side of the world. I had absolutely no hesitation on taking the fight. To be honest I accepted the fight without knowing who I was going to be fighting. I really didn’t care, I would of fought anyone or up a weight class if I had to, to get my foot in the door. The next day I was on a plane leaving the country for the first time.”
Prior to his UFC debut, Emmett picked up an impressive TKO win at West Coast Fighting Championship 16 (WCF 16) over UFC veteran Christos Giagos, defending his WCF lightweight championship. WCF has been home to many Team Alpha Male fighters over the years as the Sacramento based promotion has helped build many of their fighters. Despite a rushed UFC debut, Emmett appreciated all the perks that come with fighting in the best MMA organisation in the world.
“Fight week was awesome,” Emmett said. “The UFC is truly the best organization out there. They do everything from picking me up from the airport, booking rooms, having all my gear ready and much more. Usually during fight week I’m running around selling tickets and shirts and just overwhelmed. I didn’t have to do anything, I felt like I was on vacation. It didn’t even feel like I was fighting.”
Now, fully recovered from his finger injury, Emmett will step back into the octagon and take on UFC newcomer Jeremy Kennedy in Vancouver. Both fighters are undefeated and Emmett will look to remain undefeated in hostile territory.
“I don’t know much about my opponent besides he is well rounded,” Emmett said. “Kennedy is a high level Jiu-Jitsu practitioner under Bibiano Fernandes, a good striker and has decent wrestling. He is young and hungry and is also from Vancouver so he will have the home crowd on his side. He is also undefeated like me but I like the 0 on my record so I plan on keeping it that way. There really aren’t really any videos of his fights online but I know he has watched all of mine. I’m going to go out there August 27th and do what I do best and that is WIN!”
The Team Alpha Male fighter has been a key training partner to many of the gym’s elite and is now looking to make his own name. Having gone through plenty of training camps for himself and his teammates, it’s practically fight week every week at Team Alpha Male and his current camp won’t involve anything too different.
“I’m preparing for a 15 minute war. At TAM we have every discipline of martial arts on a daily basis so I train boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, multiple times a week as well as sparring, Strength & Conditioning and getting my road work in. The gym has really good energy and it’s great to learn from such talented fighters that have been at the top of the sport.”
Team Alpha Male is known for its strong wrestling base which is instilled in all of their top fighters. Emmett also used wrestling to get him where he’s at and has developed into a very well-rounded fighter.
“I started wrestling when I was 11 and used wrestling as a tool to get me through college. I went in to Urijah Faber’s gym in 2006 when he opened it and I started taking the classes because I wanted to fight. Shortly after going to the gym for 6 months, I received a scholarship to wrestle at Menlo College. I knew I would get better at wrestling which would help me in my MMA career and I wanted to get my degree so if the fighting didn’t work out, I would have something to fall back on. I graduated in 2010 and moved back home to Sacramento and started where I left off. I got right back in the gym and started training. I had 2 amateur fights then decided to go pro and the rest is history.”
At 31 years old, Emmett may not have made his UFC debut as early as the rest of the fighters on the team but he is ready to take the lightweight division by storm. Wasting no time, he was seen training even through the recovery process of his injury and is now ready to go for UFC Vancouver.
“It’s been a long road with a ton of struggle, hard work and sacrifice but I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it. In May I made my dream a reality and August 27th I will be one step closer to another goal of mine.”