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Josh Emmett is a big underdog against a much younger opponent at UFC Fight Night 269.
Emmett (19-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) takes on Kevin Vallejos (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in Saturday's main event (Paramount+) at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Emmett, 41, is 17 years older than Vallejos, making it the biggest age gap ever for a UFC headliner.
"Kevin could be my son (laughs)," Emmett told MMA Junkie. "But at the end of the day, I think just with the evolution and the growth of the sport and the UFC – I was a big football, baseball, basketball fan growing up. I wanted to play in one of those leagues as a professional athlete, but now we have all these young kids that are big fight fans, so now they want to get into MMA practice or jiu-jitsu or some form of martial arts. ... I think it's amazing, but I'm going to upset these odds. It's going to be the biggest age gap, and the experience is going to take this one."
While Emmett was seeking bigger names, he understands why the UFC opted to match him up with a young, streaking contender after he's lost four of his past five.
"He's good," Emmett said of Vallejos. "He's a young prospect, tough kid. They're trying to test him, and he's trying to make a name off of me. So, I know exactly what's going on, and I'm not going to let that happen.
"To be honest, I didn't even know who he was when my manager called me, and he said they want you to fight Kevin Vallejos. I was like, 'Who in the hell is that?' He told me he just knocked out Giga (Chikadze), and I was like, 'I remember the highlight of that.'"
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Josh Emmett unfazed by historic age gap against Kevin Vallejos
Continue reading...
Emmett (19-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) takes on Kevin Vallejos (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in Saturday's main event (Paramount+) at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Emmett, 41, is 17 years older than Vallejos, making it the biggest age gap ever for a UFC headliner.
"Kevin could be my son (laughs)," Emmett told MMA Junkie. "But at the end of the day, I think just with the evolution and the growth of the sport and the UFC – I was a big football, baseball, basketball fan growing up. I wanted to play in one of those leagues as a professional athlete, but now we have all these young kids that are big fight fans, so now they want to get into MMA practice or jiu-jitsu or some form of martial arts. ... I think it's amazing, but I'm going to upset these odds. It's going to be the biggest age gap, and the experience is going to take this one."
While Emmett was seeking bigger names, he understands why the UFC opted to match him up with a young, streaking contender after he's lost four of his past five.
"He's good," Emmett said of Vallejos. "He's a young prospect, tough kid. They're trying to test him, and he's trying to make a name off of me. So, I know exactly what's going on, and I'm not going to let that happen.
"To be honest, I didn't even know who he was when my manager called me, and he said they want you to fight Kevin Vallejos. I was like, 'Who in the hell is that?' He told me he just knocked out Giga (Chikadze), and I was like, 'I remember the highlight of that.'"
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Josh Emmett unfazed by historic age gap against Kevin Vallejos
Continue reading...
