Emmett vs Topuria Prediction: Who Will Challenge Volkanovski?

The undefeated Georgian Ilia Topuria will try to earn a championship fight against veteran Josh Emmett. Will the American earn a new unusual victory against a significantly more talented fighter or will Topuria earn his 14th win in a row? Here is our Emmett vs Topuria prediction.

UFC on ABC 5: Emmet vs Topuria Prediction

The fighters are very similar in physical parameters – there is a slight difference in height and arm span. The key factors that are likely to affect the outcome of this bout are the age of Emmett and his different and ineffective style.

Emmett has fought over 20 professional fights and made his UFC debut in 2016. Topuria was then just starting his career in MMA: by the end of 2016, he had 4 fights, scoring 4 victories.

Josh Emmett is the Former WCFC Lightweight Champion and has a purple belt in BJJ. In turn, Topuria is the Former MFE Featherweight Champion and has a black belt in BJJ.

Before we make our official Emmett vs Topuria prediction, here is an in-depth comparison of the fighters.

Josh Emmett Preview

Emmett is one of the most controversial fighters in the featherweight division. The wrestler has been relying less and less on wrestling lately. Josh's punching technique isn't very skillful either. He does not work on different levels and rarely kicks. But he does not need this, since each of his sweeping punches can put out a fighter at any second of the fight. The only problem is that for this the American needs to hit the target, and this causes difficulties. Emmett delivers only 38% of his punches. For comparison, the accuracy of Topuria's accented hits is 50%.

Josh's record, despite a series of victories, raises questions. The main wins in his career were obtained with a lot of luck. The unstable Michael Johnson won the entire fight until he lost his vigilance and consciousness in the 3rd round. The fight with Kattar best describes the style of the current Emmett. Both fighters fired passively, and only occasionally, Josh exploded, taking rounds in the eyes of the judges.

The monstrous knockouts of Emmett are still fresh in our memory, but the last time he finished an opponent was 4 years ago. Of course, in his prime, Emmett could have given the Georgian some problems thanks to his KO power, but even taking into account his power, he remains an underdog here. Combined with his age, it is easy for us to make an easy Emmett vs Topuria prediction.

Ilia Topuria Preview

In the age of Alex Volkanovski's dominance, the featherweight division is in dire need of new challengers. The UFC is hastily looking for a worthy opponent for the champion, leaving decommissioned veterans to be eaten by prospects. One of these promising newcomers was Topuria. The Spanish-Georgian fighter has been blowing out everyone on the way to the title, and he has not met his equal in 13 professional fights. He remains undefeated.

Topuria outplays his opponents on the canvas, proving that he won a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a reason. The hand triangle generously ended the suffering of Bryce Mitchell. The Georgian did not give up against the shark of the jiu-jitsu world – Ryan Hall.

In his debut, Ilia earned an easy victory by coming on as a substitute and showing strong freestyle wrestling skills. The icing on the cake is the perfect boxing of Topuria. His speed and knockout power in both hands became the basis of his striking technique. The Georgian does not let go of a shocked opponent either on the ground or in the standing position. With this said, here is our Emmett vs Topuria prediction.

Josh Emmett vs Ilia Topuria: The Georgian Should Remain Undefeated

The Georgian hype train rushes along the featherweight rails non-stop. In the last fight, Topuria finished 4th opponent in the UFC. Bookmakers consider the formidable prospect to be the favorite in the upcoming match and we agree – our main Emmett vs Topuria prediction is the win for the Georgian.

The stylistic matchup is not in favor of Emmett, not to mention his wear and tear. It becomes more difficult for Josh to keep within this weight class. The consequences of such a weight race were especially clearly visible in his last fight when Emmett looked painfully thin. Such extreme training does not add endurance and jaw strength, especially at 38 years old.

The straightforward, slow-moving American only hunts for the opponent's head. The less skilled boxer Jeremy Stevens showed how to beat Emmett back in 2018, earning him the Performance of the Night award. It is enough to put pressure on the American, taking advantage of his passivity in battle.

Stevens' success was recently repeated by Rodriguez, so Ilia should not have any serious problems. The Georgian is simply superior: faster and more technical with the hands, more diverse on the ground, and most importantly, he is young and hungry. An alternative Emmett vs Topuria prediction is Topuria to win early via KO or submission.