UFC on FOX 28 results: Jeremy Stephens violently KOs Josh Emmett, calls for title shot

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jeremy Stephens finished Josh Emmett in violent fashion, then declared himself the hardest-hitting featherweight in the world. He might be right.

Stephens (28-14 MMA, 15-13 UFC) knocked out Emmett (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) with vicious elbows at the 1:35 mark of the second round. It was a comeback of sorts, given Emmett had put him on the canvas in the first. Afterward, Stephens said he wants a title shot at 145 pounds.

The featherweight bout was the main event of today’s UFC on FOX 28 show at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. It aired on FOX following prelims on FOX and UFC Fight Pass.

A potentially illegal knee by Stephens in the sequence that led to the finish was not stopped by referee Dan Miragliotta, who after the fight could be seen telling announcer Bruce Buffer that the knee just missed Emmett’s head.

Stephens went to the center and Emmett circled outside to look for an opening. Stephens kicked to the leg, and Emmett immediately threw a right hand counter. Ememtt backed Stephens up with a combo, but nothing landed. A minute in, they both swung hard, but just missed. Ninety seconds in, Emmett landed too low with a kick, but Stephens only took a few seconds to regroup.

Emmett tried a jumping knee, but just missed. Stephens kicked and slipped, but Emmett couldnt’ find a way to take advantage. Both fighters landed right hands with 100 seconds left. But 20 seconds later, it was a crisp right hook from Emmett that put Stephens on the canvas. He went down to the mat to try to finish, but couldn’t find it and Stephens was back to his feet with 45 seconds left in the round.

A minute into the second round, Stephens landed a spinning back fist that had Emmett backing out to reset himself. And 30 seconds later, the end of the fight came absolutely violently.

Stephens cracked Emmett with a left hand counter and put him on the canvas. He followed him down and landed a right, then several elbows. He threw a knee that would’ve been illegal, but it just missed landing – at least according to Miragliotta. And after that, it took a couple more massive elbows for Emmett to be out cold with Miragliotta finally stepping in to shut Stephens down.

Some in the crowd booed on the replays, believing the knee to have landed. And Emmett’s corner left the cage in anger, believing Emmett had been done in by an illegal shot.

“And now we know who the hardest-hitting 145er is, baby. No disrespect – Josh Emmett put me down on my butt. I had to get my wits back. But you can’t break me. … Give me my title shot! There’s only three guys in front of me.”

Stephens won for the third straight time for his second such streak in the UFC. Emmett had a two-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 28 results include:

• Jeremy Stephens def. Josh Emmett via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 1:35
• Jessica Andrade def. Tecia Torres via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ilir Latifi def. Ovince Saint Preux via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:48
• Max Griffin def. Mike Perry via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-27)
• Brian Kelleher def. Renan Barao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Marion Reneau def. Sara McMann via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:40
• Angela Hill def. Maryna Moroz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alan Jouban def. Ben Saunders via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:38
• Sam Alvey def. Marcin Prachnio via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 4:23
• Rani Yahya def. Russell Doane via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 2:32
• Alex Perez def. Eric Shelton via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Manny Bermudez def. Albert Morales via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:33

For complete covearge of UFC on FOX 28, check out the UFC Events section of the site.