Team Alpha Male’s Josh Emmett faced off against Alliance MMA’s Jeremy Stephens over the weekend in a main event war for division dominance. While things did not go Emmett’s way, Stephen’s big knockout victory has since come under some controversy.
Stephens and Emmett went toe-to-toe in the main event of Saturday night’s, Feb. 24, UFC on FOX 28. Stephens earned a knockout victory over his opponent in the second round, but has since come under some controversy for the finish.
Stephens first dropped Emmett to the canvas, before following up with a series of strikes that would ultimately bring a stop to the contest. Among the strikes, the fighter seemingly landed an illegal knee to the back of the head of Emmett.
Now UFC fighters have decided to come forward with their thoughts on the match up’s result. Check it out in the social media posts below:
How do y’all feel about the knee? I feel like it didn’t do any damage, but I’ve only seen it live. #UFCOrlando #RulesofSurvival
— Chas Skelly (@ChasSkelly) February 25, 2018
Gimme a break! Feel for @JoshEmmett155, congrats @lilheathenmma but that was an illegal knee. @… https://t.co/4zq9cR7jy0
— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) February 25, 2018
Illegal knee AF!
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) February 25, 2018
So knees to downed opponent are legal now? Was there a fuckin rules change?
— Andre Fili (@TouchyFili) February 25, 2018
Best way to solve this problem…. make knees everywhere legal! I’d be totally fine with hits to back of head too… this isn’t boxing. #UFCOrlando #UFC #MMA
— Nik Lentz (@NikLentz) February 25, 2018
It’s bullshit https://t.co/LMI6VSDxtp
— Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) February 25, 2018
We gotta really clarify these rules, Emmet was trying to come up and wasn’t expecting to get kneed in the head.
— Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) February 25, 2018
Stephens was in killmode you can’t blame him it’s on the ref 100% https://t.co/62VQeaoFfO
— Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) February 25, 2018
I would file for a no contest lowkey. That knee grazed the top of the head, looked illegal af. Jeremy do hit hard but josh was looking good
— Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) February 25, 2018
I didn’t just make the shit up. It’s relevant. We need to know the rules. If a dude can throw a knee while you down it’s changes the game https://t.co/6dgdtryX2m
— Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) February 25, 2018
Elbows were legit and the knee missed. ?♂️
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) February 25, 2018
Looked like a grounded opponent to me. #ufcorlando
— Scott Holtzman (@HotSauceHoltzy) February 25, 2018
That knee was questionable for sure tho..
— Shane Burgos (@HurricaneShaneB) February 25, 2018
Not Everyone agrees that they were illegal:
DC is completely wrong in this situation.
— Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) February 25, 2018
Bonus Media Reactions:
Dan only missed three fouls on that finish. wonderful.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) February 25, 2018
Damn. That illegal knee at least grazed him. And before that, there was a hard elbow to the back of the head.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 25, 2018
Am I crazy or was that a knee to a grounded opponent? Just replayed it 5 times and it looks like it was every time. Stephens wins via 2nd round TKO.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 25, 2018
Upon further review, Cormier is 100% right. Those two elbows were illegal. And the knee grazed. That’s some bad luck for Emmett. Mirgliotta missed 3 illegal strikes and he was right there.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 25, 2018
Rewatch the sequence. Even if the knee grazed, it clearly lands on the way back down and Emmett is still down. MMA refs have impossible jobs at times, so it’s a shame they can’t go to replay in Florida.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 25, 2018
