Josh Emmett’s momentum was brought to a halt in 2018.
The UFC featherweight contender propelled up the rankings in December 2017 when he scored a first-round knockout of former title challenger Ricardo Lamas, ending the year with a bang. Emmett was arguably just a win or two away from a shot at champion Max Holloway.
But then he ran into Jeremy Stephens in his first UFC main event two months later. Stephens finished him via TKO in the second round. Emmett suffered a handful of severe facial injuries, including fractures of his lateral orbital, nasal bone, and zygomatic arch.