Featherweight Knockout Artists to Headline March 14 UFC Card

"The organization announced on Friday its headliner for its March 14 fight card that will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Atop the UFC Fight Night 269 billing-also known as UFC Vegas 114-will be a 145-pound slugfest pitting Josh Emmett (19-6) against Kevin Vallejos (17-1). Vallejos subsequently confirmed his involvement in this March main attraction on his Instagram."

"California's Emmett has fallen on hard time as of late. The 40-year-old has dropped four of his last five, with his lone victory since 2022 a one-punch knockout of Bryce Mitchell. Otherwise, Emmett has fallen short to Yair Rodriguez and Youssef Zalal by submission, and dropped decisions to Ilia Topuria and Lerone Murphy. Before the struggles, "CC0" had amassed a five-fight win streak from 2019 to 2022, culminating in an interim title tilt against the aforementioned Rodriguez."

"A pair of stoppages in the Argentinian's home country promotion of Samurai Fight House led him to another crack at the Contender Series, and he passed that test with flying colors by demolishing Cam Teague in under half a round. A trio of UFC victories including knockouts over Seung Woo Choi and most recently, a spinning back fist finish of Giga Chikadze, propelled him into this main event opportunity."

Josh Emmett and Kevin Vallejos will headline UFC Fight Night 269 (UFC Vegas 114) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 14. Emmett (19-6), age 40, has lost four of his last five bouts, with his only recent win a one-punch knockout of Bryce Mitchell; other recent losses include submissions to Yair Rodriguez and Youssef Zalal and decisions to Ilia Topuria and Lerone Murphy. Emmett previously enjoyed a five-fight win streak from 2019 to 2022 that led to an interim title fight. Vallejos (17-1) rebounded from a 2023 Contender Series loss by scoring stoppages in Samurai Fight House, dominating Cam Teague to re-earn Contender status, and compiling three UFC wins, including knockouts of Seung Woo Choi and a spinning back-fist finish of Giga Chikadze, earning the main-event opportunity.

Read at Sherdog