Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) staged a “Fight Night” event last night (Sat., June 18, 2022) inside Moody Center in Austin Texas, featuring a Featherweight scrap that saw Josh Emmett defeat Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision (see it here). In the co-main event, Kevin Holland defeated Tim Mean via submission (d’arce choke) in round number two (highlights).
Biggest Winner: Josh Emmett
In a night that featured nine great finishes, it was hard to decide on who were the biggest winners, so there will be some disagreement with today’s choices. But Emmett obviously gets the top spot here because after putting on a gutsy performance against Kattar to collect his fifth straight win. The hard-hitting 145-pound contender will likely jump into the Top 5, setting him up for a bigger fight in his next outing. Another win (maybe two), and Emmett could find himself staring down the barrel of a shot at the division title. After tearing his ACL in 2020, Emmett hasn’t lost a step, winning two consecutive fights since returning from the devastating injury.
Runner Up: Adrian Yanez
Yanez’s ascension up the Bantamweight ranks continues to go strong after he stopped Tony Kelley via strikes in the second round to pick up his ninth straight win, fifth inside the Octagon. Cracking the Top 15 in the stacked Bantamweight division is a tall order, but Yanez is making all the right moves to get there. And when you add the fact that he has earned a post-fight bonus in every single one of his fights inside the Octagon, he could accomplish that goal sooner, rather than later. Furthermore, Yanez’s fan-base likely grew exponentially for taking out Kelly in impressive fashion after the controversial combatant drew the ire of the combat community for his racial comments.
Biggest Loser: Eddie Wineland
Statistically speaking, Wineland had one of the most crucial defeats of the event after he was knocked out by Cody Stamman in the very first round. It was Wineland’s third straight stoppage loss…all in the very first round. Taking it back a bit further, the longtime veteran has lost five of his last six fights and hasn’t had a winning run inside the Octagon in nearly seven years. With numbers like that, it’s going to be tough for UFC officials to justify keeping the 37-year old striker.
For complete UFC Austin results and coverage click here.