This past weekend Josh Emmett picked up another big win to his resume, but he’s now going to be out of action for some time. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, MRI test results have revealed that in his victory over Shane Burgos, Emmett suffered multiple knee injuries, including a complete tear of his ACL.
UFC featherweight Josh Emmett (@JoshEmmettUFC) suffered a "complete ACL tear" in his Fight of Night victory over Shane Burgos on Saturday.
Per Emmett, other injuries include: Partial MCL tear, focal impact fracture of femur, damaged cartilage, swelling.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 22, 2020
“UFC featherweight Josh Emmett suffered a “complete ACL tear” in his Fight of Night victory over Shane Burgos on Saturday. Per Emmett, other injuries include partial MCL tear, focal impact fracture of femur, damaged cartilage, swelling.”
No timeline was given for how long Emmett could be out of action but the injury comes as a major blow to one of the featherweight division’s rising contenders. The victory for Emmett was his third in a row after he was coming in off wins over Mirsad Bektic and Michael Johnson. In all, Emmett has won five of his last six fights, with three finishes over Bektic, Johnson, and Lamas.
This will be yet another pause on the career of Emmett who had to deal with two fights being canceled earlier this year, back in May with Edson Barboza, and in January when he was set to take on Arnold Allen.
The victory over Burgos was likely to set Emmett up with an opportunity for a big fight in the featherweight division, possibly even a title eliminator. The injury seemed to have occurred early in the fight according to Emmett, who believes it came within the first 45 seconds into the first round. Speaking to the media after his win over Burgos, Emmett expressed his frustration with not being able to showcase all of his skills due to being compromised by the knee injury.
In addition to his frustration with the injury Emmett called for more respect towards him from both the UFC and the media as he establishes himself as a top contender at 145 pounds.
Best wishes to Josh Emmett in his recovery.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/22/2020