Josh Emmett breaks down key UFC 314 featherweight matchups

LAS VEGAS – Josh Emmett has weighed in on the two marquee featherweight fights at UFC 314.

In the UFC 314 main event (ESPN+ pay-per-view), Alexander Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will take on Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant 145-pound belt April 12 at Kaseya Center from Miami.

Emmett (19-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) finds it hard to pick against the former five-time defending UFC featherweight champion.

“I’m excited to watch it,” Emmett said at Wednesday’s media day. “Both super-talented fighters. I feel like Volkanovski just being who he is and such a dominant champion, I’m leaning towards him.

“I think Volkanovski gets that job done. The way that Diego wins, obviously he’s good everywhere, he’s hungry. If he wins, I think he catches him early, but the longer the fight goes, I think it’s heavily favored towards Volkanovski.”

On the main card of UFC 314, former Bellator champion Patricio Freire (36-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his octagon debut against former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez (16-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC). Emmett was submitted by Rodriguez in their interim title fight at UFC 284 in February 2023.

“I know ‘Pitbull,’ he’s really good, he was a two-division champion at Bellator, but I don’t know,” Emmett said. “Stylistically, we’ll see real quick in the first round. I can argue how both guys win and get the job done, but it’s who shows up, who wants it more, but I think we’ll figure that out very quick, within the first few minutes of the fight.”

Emmett returns against unbeaten rising featherweight contender Lerone Murphy (15-0-1 MMA, 7-0-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 65 (ESPN, ESPN+) main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 65.