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Mexico City Showdown: Diego Lopes to Battle Heavy Hitter Josh Emmett in UFC Headliner

Mexico City Showdown: Diego Lopes to Battle Heavy Hitter Josh Emmett in UFC Headliner A featherweight headliner between Diego Lopes vs. Josh Emmett is in the works for the UFC’s return to Mexico…

A featherweight headliner between Diego Lopes vs. Josh Emmett is in the works for the UFC’s return to Mexico City in 2025.

Per a report from Australian reporter Benny P on X, Lopes will look to land his sixth-straight win inside the Octagon when he meets Emmett on March 29.

Originally, it looked like Lopes was being lined up for an interim featherweight title fight with ex-champion Alexander Volkanovski. That no longer appeared to be the case after Volkanovski revealed his next fight would be a rematch with 145-pound titleholder Ilia Topuria.

Lopes last stepped inside the Octagon against former title challenger Brian Ortega at UFC 306 in September. Lopes earned a unanimous decision victory, moving him to 5-1 under the UFC banner — his lone loss coming in his promotional debut against Movsar Evloev in May 2023.

Josh Emmett heads to Mexico city after scoring a brutal KO against Bryce Mitchell last year

Expected to meet Lopes inside Arena CDMX is Josh Emmett who will be making his 15th walk to the Octagon and carrying a solid 10-4 record on MMA’s biggest stage. It’s been more than a year since ‘CC0’ scored a horrifyingly brutal first-round KO against Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296 in December 2023.

Emmett is 2-2 in his last four, dropping back-to-back bouts against Yair Rodriguez and Ilia Topuria before bouncing back with his win over ‘Thug Nasty.’ Before that, Emmett was on a five-fight win streak with wins against the likes of Shane Burgos, Dan Ige, and Calvin Kattar.

Josh Emmett echoes calls for title eliminator fight with UFC star Max Holloway: ‘He fought everyone but me’

Josh Emmett calls out Max Holloway following a devastating knockout win over Bryce Mitchell. Following the first two back-to-back…

Josh Emmett calls out Max Holloway following a devastating knockout win over Bryce Mitchell.

Following the first two back-to-back losses of his career, Emmett was in search of a win against Giga Chikadze, but the Georgian had to withdraw from the fight due to injury. Mitchell would take the fight on late notice and pre-fight opinion was split after Emmett’s recent outcomes and that he was now 38.

However, it would take Emmett just under two minutes to land a devastating right hand, knocking out Mitchell with a single shot. Mitchell would remain stiff in unconsciousness before begging to seize.

Josh Emmett calls out Max Holloway for future matchup

With the victory, Emmet places himself straight back into the mix at featherweight and could see himself straight back into a big fight.

Appearing on Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s podcast, Emmett specifically named Holloway as who he would like next.

“I want to get back to that title, that’s my goal,” Emmett said on the JAXXON PODCAST (h/t MMA Junkie). “I’m going to do whatever it takes to become a world champion, and I want to fight someone in front of me.

“In my opinion, the clearest shot to the title — and it would be the toughest fight as well — give me Max Holloway,” he continued. “He’s the No. 1 contender. I think it’s the right fight at the right time. That’s what I want. He was a phenomenal champion in and out of the Octagon. He’s a huge name, and he’s cleared out the entire division. He’s fought everyone but me. Let’s do it.”

Holloway is quickly running out of matchups at featherweight having already lost to Alexander Volkanovski three times but beating all other contenders he has faced.

Do you think the UFC should make Max Holloway vs. Josh Emmett?

Bryce Mitchell taking six-Month Hiatus After Horrifying KO Loss against Josh Emmett at UFC 296

Bryce Mitchell won’t be rushing back into the Octagon anytime soon. Stepping up for a short-notice scrap with Josh…

Bryce Mitchell won’t be rushing back into the Octagon anytime soon.

Stepping up for a short-notice scrap with Josh Emmett at the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of 2023, ‘Thug Nasty’ suffered one of the most horrifying knockouts in UFC history. Lying on the cage floor in convulsions after eating a crushing right hand from Emmett, fans and fighters watching on were understandably concerned for the featherweight standout’s health.

Getting to see Josh Emmett knockout Bryce Mitchell live was insane pic.twitter.com/Ht6ow1v5pc

— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) January 3, 2024

Luckily, Mitchell recovered enough to walk out of the Octagon under his own power.

Looking to take no chances following the undeniably scary moment, ‘Thug Nasty’ plans to sideline himself for the next six months.

“I’m on my own concussion protocol,” Mitchell told ESPN. “I’ll consult with my coaches, too, and we’re basically just saying, ‘You know, don’t spar for six months.’ I’ve got to [build a new house] and [expecting my first child], but then I’m right into my next training camp after that. The good thing is that I don’t have to rush into it.”

Bryce Mitchell’s Family Thought he was dead

After losing two of his last three bouts, Mitchell finds himself barely clinging to the No. 10 spot in the featherweight rankings. However, being pushed further away from a 145-pound title opportunity was the least of his concerns following the fight.

“The worst part is dealing with everybody afterwards, ‘cause they all thought I was dead,” Mitchell continued. “Everybody that I knew was crying. On the bright side, that was the easiest fight for me. I’ve never had a fight where I’ve come out feeling so great. I just woke up in the ambulance and barely remembered what happened. There’s no pain, I’m telling you. But everybody was crying and they thought I was dead; I’m not exaggerating” (h/t MMA Mania).

Still sitting at an impressive 16-2 in his mixed martial arts career, Mitchell is expected to make his return during the second half of 2024.

Josh Emmett eyes Max Holloway fight after shocking KO win at UFC 296: ‘It would be an honor’

Off the back of his hellacious first round KO win over the highly-touted, Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296 over…

Off the back of his hellacious first round KO win over the highly-touted, Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296 over the course of last weekend, former interim featherweight champion, Josh Emmett has staked his claim for a title-eliminator clash with former titleholder, Max Holloway next.

Emmett, the current number six ranked lightweight contender, turned in a shocking victory at UFC 296 last Saturday night in Las Vegas, landing a thunderous opening round KO win over the above-mentioned Ultimate Fighter alum, Mitchell in the pair’s main card opener.

The victory snapped a two-fight losing run for Pheonix veteran, Emmett had been on the wrong side of a decision loss to incoming title chaser, Ilia Topuria earlier this summer, which following a February triangle choke submission loss to Yair Rodríguez in the pair’s interim title fight at UFC 284.

For Holloway, the Hawaiian fan-favorite is currently riding a two-fight winning run – most recently landing a devastating third round KO win over veteran former title challenger Chan Sung Jung at UFC Singapore earlier this summer.

Prior to that, Holloway halted the run of British featherweight, Arnold Allen in a main event clash at UFC Kansas City back in April, and still holds the number one rank in the official featherweight rankings.

Josh Emmett welcomes fight with Max Holloway next

Weighing up his immediate fighting future off the back of his impressive knockout win over Mitchell, Emmett suggested a title-eliminator fight with former champion, Holloway in a return to action.

“He (Max Holloway) is the number one contender,” Josh Emmett told MMA Fighting of a fight with Max Holloway. “He’s cleared out pretty much everyone in the division and fought everyone in the featherweight division but myself.”

“It would be an honor to fight him,” Josh Emmett explained.

Who wins in a potential fight: Max Holloway or Josh Emmett?

Bryce Mitchell releases statement after convulsing KO loss at UFC 296: ‘I’m okay, That’s not how I fight’

Bryce Mitchell is blaming a bad game plan for the brutal knockout loss that he suffered at UFC 296…

Bryce Mitchell is blaming a bad game plan for the brutal knockout loss that he suffered at UFC 296 against Josh Emmett.

According to ‘Thug Nasty’ improper planning was the reason that he looked so ‘timid’ and eventually got knocked out during his fight with Josh Emmett. The knockout was a particularly violent one, and left Mitchell convulsing uncontrollably, battling what appeared to be a seizure.

Fans, commentators, and seemingly the entire world were concerned for the young UFC star. 4-1 in his last five, few would have expected such an outcome in that fight. Mitchell was the betting favorite leading into the bout, despite coming in on short notice. People expected him to utilize his smothering grappling, and this was aided by the fact that Emmett had been preparing for a striker before Mitchell (a grappler) stepped up on short notice.

Bryce Mitchell later took to social media and addressed the fans to let them know he was alright, and also spoke about his game plan leading into the matchup.

Bryce Mitchell releases statement on Instagram after he suffers one of the most brutal knockouts of the year

“Hey, I wanted to let everybody know that I’m ok,” Bryce Mitchell began, speaking on Instagram. “I wanted to thank y’all so much for watching and I’ve just been so blessed this weekend. I cannot complain about anything.”

Bryce Mitchell reacts to his knockout loss, via his Instagram pic.twitter.com/NI4kwTuDHX

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) December 17, 2023

“Really, where I messed up,” Mitchell continued. “Poor strategy. So, my strategy was to stick to the jab, make my reads, and work my feet. Kinda sit on the outside. But, that put me to where I’m not putting that forward pressure that I really like to put (on my opponents). It also made me look like, timid, ya know. And, that’s not how I fight.”

“I fight very aggressively,” Bryce Mitchell continued, looking very disgusted with the reality he was speaking about. “So, I encourage anybody that’s got a fight in their life, not just a fistfight, be aggressive… Just attack it, because at least if you go down, you’re gonna know that you fought and you went head-on towards it… Just a bad strategy by me tonight. And, uh gosh. Josh hits hard!”

Mitchell would continue for a short time longer, giving praise to his adversary. The video surely is bittersweet to fans. Watching such a devastating knockout occur is never a great thing, but at least Bryce Mitchell wasn’t seriously injured after that one.

What do you personally think about the strategy Bryce Mitchell employed against Josh Emmett?