The battered face of Josh Emmett said it all.
Ilia Topuria used his boxing and pressure to pummell Emmett over five rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC Jacksonville at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Florida on Saturday. Judges scored it 50-42, 50-44 and 49-45 all in favor of Topuria who improved to 14-0 and continues to be a growing problem in the featherweight division.
Topuria asserted his jab early in the fight and used the weapon of choice to punish Emmett, closing up the American's left eye by the end of the third round.
The fourth round saw the bout only get more painful for Emmett as he was dropped courtesy of a stinging left hand and nearly finished by a buffet of punches.
The referee could have stopped the bout earlier, but Emmett showed incredible heart in withstanding the beating to make it to the end.
“In reality, I was expecting to knock him out in the first round, but the guy is really, really tough,” Topuria said inside the Octagon following his lopsided victory.
He added: "I showed once again that no one can match my level of skill."