Josh Emmett announces plans to move to lightweight for retirement fight

Former interim UFC featherweight title challenger Josh Emmett plans to make his next fight his last.

‘The Fighting Falmer’ has been out of the cage since a clash with Ilia Topuria last month at UFC Jacksonville. ‘El Matador’ entered the matchup calling for a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, and he fought like it. In the end, Ilia Topuria turned in a historic win last month against the longtime contender.

In the main event of UFC Jacksonville, Josh Emmett suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss. The defeat was one of the most lopsided in promotional history when factoring in the judges’ scores. To make matters worse, the defeat was the second in a row for the 38-year-old. Previously, he came up short in a bid for interim gold against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284 in February.

Two months later on Twitter, Josh Emmett announced plans to return to lightweight for his next fight. Furthermore, the former featherweight title challenger announced that the bout would be his last. At 38 years old and riding a two-fight losing streak, the announcement doesn’t come as a massive surprise.

RELATED: PADDY PIMBLETT SAYS HE WOULD LOVE TO DO A SEASON OF ‘THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER’ WITH ILIA TOPURIA

I’m down to move back to lightweight for a fight! 📝 #RetirementFight 🤦🏼‍♂️

— JOSH EMMETT (@JoshEmmettUFC) July 21, 2023

“I’m down to move back to lightweight for a fight! #RetirementFight”

Nonetheless, Josh Emmett’s next fight will be his first at 155 pounds in years. While forgotten, he first debuted in the UFC as a lightweight. Being signed to the promotion at 11-0, he later moved down to featherweight after a decision defeat to Desmond Green in 2017.

That turned out to be the correct decision, given his massive success at 145 pounds. Nonetheless, six years later, the former title challenger is now looking to return to lightweight for one more fight.

What do you make of this announcement? Who do you want to see Josh Emmett fight in his final UFC fight?