Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
The UFC featherweight contender injured his knee barely 20 seconds into last Saturday’s co-main event.
UFC featherweight contender Josh Emmett picked up a tremendous victory over Shane Burgos in one of the best fights of 2020, but it came at a cost.
Emmett’s left leg buckled noticeably just seconds into last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 3 co-main event, which he later described in the post-fight interview as a possible ACL tear. He was still able to fire off his vaunted power punches and twice put Burgos down in the final round to come away with the unanimous decision.
As it turns out, Emmett (15-2) did tear his ACL and had some other injuries too, including a sprained MCL and damaged cartilage. He outlined everything on Twitter late Monday afternoon.
Most people would of quit or looked for a way out! I will NEVER QUIT!
1 Complete ACL tear
2 MCL Sprain with partial tearing
3 Bakers cyst rupture
4 Focal impact fracture of
femur on the lateral
5 Chondral defect (cartilage) on tibia laterally matching impact area #UFCVegas3— Josh Emmett (@JoshEmmettUFC) June 23, 2020
In other words, Josh Emmett is insanely tough and it only adds to how impressive his win was.
On the downside, the ACL tear by itself obviously means there is no way Emmett returns any time soon, which is the one negative for a man who’s on a three-fight winning streak and deservedly among the elite in the talent-rich featherweight division.
Emmett’s manager Jennifer Goldstein told MMA Fighting that should Josh elect for surgery, he could be sidelined for nine months, although it’s possible he won’t need to go that route.
This was Emmett’s first fight of his new contract, which saw him net $152,000 ($76k/$76k) in salary and an additional $50,000 for his Fight of the Night bonus.