UFC targeting Josh Emmett vs. Shane Burgos for June 20
The UFC’s busy day of booking fights continues, as now the promotion is working on booking a featherweight bout between Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos for their June 20 card. ESPN was first to report the news.
Josh Emmett (15-2) will be making his first walk to the octagon nearly a year as injuries have kept him sidelined. Since returning to featherweight in 2017, Emmett has collected a 4-1 record, including back-to-back knockout wins over Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic.
Shane Burgos (13-1) will come into the fight with a lot of confidence as he’s finally in the top 10 of the featherweight division. His lone loss came at UFC 220, in which he lost to Calvin Kattar in an epic fight, which would earn “Fight of the Night” honors. Following the loss, Burgos has picked up three straight wins.
Burgos told MMA Fighting that he’s starting to look ahead and at the top tier of the division.
“We all do at this point,” Burgos said to MMA Fighting. “I earned my ranking when I beat Cub and just fought Makwan who wasn’t ranked. I was like, ‘You know what? I just got my ranking, I’m not gonna sit here and be like I’ll fight him, I’ll fight him.’ That’s the guy I got? Fine. I’ll defend my ranking.
“Now I’m at the point where I’m like, give me somebody ahead of me. Give me that opportunity. I’m No. 10, so I want to fight one of these top-10 guys.”
The UFC’s June 20 event was originally scheduled to take place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but due to COVID-19 precautions, the fight card will not be held there. A new location is pending.
