Josh Emmett, Ilia Topuria to headline UFC Fight Night 227 in Jacksonville

UFC Jacksonville: Emmett vs Topuria – June 24 | Fight Promo

Featherweights Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria will take center stage as the UFC returns to action this Saturday at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ranked fifth and ninth in the division, respectively, Emmett and Topuria are set to headline Fight Night 227, aiming to secure a shot at the title against Alexander Volkanovski or Yair Rodriguez.

Emmett, who made his UFC debut in 2016, had been on a five-fight winning streak, defeating notable opponents such as Mirsad Bektic, Michael Johnson, Shane Burgos, Dan Ige and Calvin Kattar. However, his momentum was halted in his last bout against Rodriguez in Australia.

Following his loss to Rodriguez, Emmett expressed his desire for fights closer to home, wanting the event to take place in Vegas. He explained that the three-hour time difference in Jacksonville is manageable, but he no longer wishes to compete in fights outside the country.

“So I called my manager, ‘Hey, I wanna fight [during] International Fight Week. And they said they had other plans for me with this fight, and I took it,” Emmett said.

“Originally it was supposed to be in Vegas, ’cause I wanted to fight kind of local, but it’s only a three-hour time difference, so that’ll be okay. I just don’t wanna travel overseas and fight anymore.”

Topuria keeps up 13-win streak

Topuria has been on a 13-win streak since joining the UFC in 2020. His most recent victory came against Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell, who admitted to fighting while sick with the flu. Mitchell’s six-match winning streak was ended by the formidable El Matador.

In addition to the highly anticipated main event, UFC Jacksonville will showcase a lineup of skilled fighters on the main card, including Austen Lane, Brendan Allen, Bruno Silva, David Onama and Gabriel Santos.

Fans can tune in to the action-packed UFC Jacksonville event, kicking off at 3 p.m. ET/8 p.m. BST. The main event cage walks are scheduled to commence at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. BST.