By Josh Evanoff
Josh Emmett picked up a win over Shane Burgos in an absolute war in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 11.
A pair of featherweights looking to inch closer to title contention held down the co-main event slot at UFC on ESPN 11. Both Shane Burgos and Josh Emmett have had their fair share of success in the UFC to date. Emmett’s biggest foe, in fact, might actually be inactivity, as he’s spent half his time in the promotion on the shelf. Still, he’d picked up two wins in 2019 and was looking to make it three in a row against Burgos.
On the other side of things, Shane Burgos had won three straight. Most recently, he’d finished Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 244. Before that, he’d collected a win against featherweight favorite Cub Swanson.
Burgos started putting pressure on Emmett early, and Emmett connected with a right hand in return. Emmett landed a big combination clean, but Burgos walked right through it. Burgos landed a calf kick that buckled Emmett, but Emmett seemed to recover and keep throwing bombs. Emmett landed a clean right hand and Burgos ate it and landed two calf kicks that hurt Emmett. Emmett landed a clean combination and started to move forward but was buckled by Burgos again after eating an inside leg kick. Emmett shot for a takedown to end the round, but couldn’t get it. He landed two right hands on the break, sending them to round two.
Burgos was landing the jab a lot to start round two, as Emmett seemed to lose a lot of his movement due to the leg kicks. That, and a potential leg injury he suffered early in the bout. Emmett shot back with a big combination, but Burgos just pushed him back. Emmett landed a big right hand, but Burgos countered with a hard inside leg kick. Burgos was the one pushing the pressure in round two, and while Emmett was still landing big right hands, Burgos was establishing the jab and chopping Emmett down efficiently. The final thirty seconds were pure fireworks, Burgos landing a clean 1-2 causing Emmett to throw a heavy right hand that landed. Burgos landed a back elbow while turning away. Then ended the round by throwing a flying knee, before the two traded strikes in the final seconds.
Josh Emmett tried to put Burgos on the backfoot early in the third and landed a big combination. Emmett landed a huge shot that dropped Burgos in the first minute, and Emmett ended up in Burgos’ guard. Burgos would make his way back to the feet and would land a hard groin shot that sent Emmett down. Emmett took a couple of minutes to recover, and the fight was back on. Emmett landed two huge rights after the break but Burgos walked through them. However, he wouldn’t walk through the next huge shot. Emmett would land a huge left that would send Burgos down. Burgos would get up, and a nice combination of his own. Emmett would land a huge combination that Burgos would eat and beckon Emmett on for more. The two would end the fight swinging!
What a fight. Emmett pulled out the win. Burgos will see his stock rise regardless. No losers in this one.
Official Result: Josh Emmett def. Shane Burgos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
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