JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Josh Emmett has nothing good to say about his performance against Yair Rodriguez for the interim featherweight title in February. Fortunately he knows he can take a big step toward rectifying things Saturday at UFC on ABC 5.
Emmett (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) suffered a second-round submission loss to Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 284 in February in a fight that would’ve propelled him to a championship unification bout with Alexander Volkanovski this summer. There are no excuses to be made for the result, Emmett said, and the only important thing at this point, is that he’s turned the page.
“You’ve got to deal with the cards you’re dealt,” Emmett told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ABC 5 media day. “That was a sh*tty hand, and it was a sh*tty performance on my part. I give that nothing shorter than an F. It was a big fail. It just wasn’t my day, for whatever reason. I truly believe things happen for a reason, and it’s going to be that much sweeter when I climb back to the title. It’s part of my journey. I can’t dwell on my past because there’s going to be roadblocks in the way of my future.”
