Josh Emmett Hoping To Fight Brian Ortega

In an interview with MMA Fighting, UFC featherweight Josh Emmett said that he’s hoping to have a top contender bout against Brian Ortega in the future. Here are highlights:

On his future goals: “I want to be a world champion like I said, so if something was presented to me like a title shot, like I said, I’ll take that in a heartbeat. But I know (Frankie) Edgar and (Max) Holloway, they’re in talks about fighting. I think Edgar has definitely earned it, so what makes the most sense to me is maybe if Brian Ortega and I fight. The winner of us gets the winner of Edgar-Holloway.”

On getting the finish at UFC on fOX 26: “This is the longest I’ve gone without a finish, so I knew I was overdue for one and I kept saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to get one on Saturday.’ I wanted to go in there and I wanted to do what the current and former champion couldn’t do Lamas, and I did it in the first round. I just, I know where I stack up. I’ve been with Team Alpha Male for over a decade and I know I’m one of the best fighters in the world. Urijah (Faber) told me that when I was 2-0 as a pro. He said, ‘You’re one of the best fighters in the world, just nobody know it yet.’ And I took the hard road, so much adversity, so many injuries, and I fought time and time, ‘Should I keep doing this? Should I keep pursuing it?’ But my goal was always to get in the UFC, and then once I got here, I’m not going to stop until I’m a world champion.”

On knocking out Ricardo Lamas: “Just the way I hit him, I just, I don’t know — in sparring, sometimes you land the cleanest punch and you just know. And so I felt that through my left hand and I literally saw him just fall back and his head bounce off the ground, and I was just like, ‘That’s it.’ I celebrated, of course, and then when I looked back and he was still out, I don’t know, that’s kinda hard to watch. I can’t celebrate anymore. I had to take a knee and just hope he’s okay, because I know his wife and his family and his dad were there, and I can imagine what they’re going through, if my wife or my mom or something like that happened to me. I don’t wish that upon anyone, even my opponents. Like, I always hope I go in there, I get the win, a knockout like that, but we both go home safe, no injuries for our families and friends.”