Featherweights
Josh Emmett (13-2) vs. Michael Johnson (19-13)Advertisement
The concept of Emmett as a featherweight contender came completely out of nowhere, but it is in danger of vanishing just as quickly as it appeared. Emmett was a perfectly fine lightweight before dropping down to 145 pounds, and all it took was one win over Felipe Arantes for Emmett to surprisingly be put in as a late-notice replacement against perennial top contender Ricardo Lamas. Of course, it was even more surprising when one of Emmett’s power hooks connected with Lamas for a sudden knockout victory. The transitive property of that win made Emmett a contender himself, but a subsequent prove-it fight against Jeremy Stephens did not go quite as well, as “Lil’ Heathen” eventually ended the fight with a brutal volley of elbows that broke Emmett’s face. It has been over a year since that fight, and Emmett finally makes his return here, though Johnson does not make for an easy bounce-back opportunity.
It has been a ridiculously inconsistent career for Johnson. The Missouri native stuck around for a bit as a mid-tier lightweight, but just as soon as “The Menace” appeared to be in danger of sliding off the roster, his boxing game suddenly clicked, resulting in a four-fight winning streak that ended with a career-best performance against Edson Barboza. As it turns out, that set up a run where Johnson lost five out of his next six fights. Even during that skid, his lone win was quite impressive, as a quick knockout of Dustin Poirier showed that Johnson’s hand speed can compete with any opponent. However, all of Johnson’s worst issues came to the forefront in each of his losses. For all his talent, Johnson can be a mental mess. Nate Diaz and Justin Gaethje managed to lure him into brawls, while Khabib Nurmagomedov and Darren Elkins exposed Johnson’s tendency to completely break and crumble as soon as the fight turns against him. The Elkins fight served as Johnson’s debut down at featherweight, which was an odd career move. For a striker whose greatest advantages were centered around his speed, moving down a weight class seemed like the absolutely wrong decision. Johnson has at least rebounded to have some success with wins over Andre Fili and Artem Lobov, but he has yet to have the performance to cement him as any sort of contender in his new division. Maybe it happens here.
Johnson is capable of junking up any fight -- well, maybe not the one against Lobov -- but this seems like another bout he is tailor-made to win. Emmett’s style is all big hooks and not particularly varied; as a Team Alpha MMA product, he never really looks to implement his wrestling. In a pure boxing match, Johnson looks like the quicker and more diverse striker, so he should be able to read what is coming from Emmett and literally beat him to the punch every time. Add in the concerns about Emmett’s durability coming off such a brutal list of injuries and this could be a quick night. The pick is Johnson via first-round knockout.
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