Kevin Vallejos punched his ticket to the featherweight top 10 last night (Sat., Mar. 14, 2026) at UFC Vegas 114 LIVE on Paramount+ from inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, stopping veteran contender Josh Emmett with a vicious first-round TKO (punches) in the main event.
Despite Emmett’s featherweight resume, the 41-year-old was a massive betting underdog heading into Saturday’s showdown with Vallejos. Bookies believed the 24-year-old Vallejos would be too much for the veteran fighter and Emmett would fold
sooner or later. Emmett, who was just 1-4 in his last five trips to the Octagon, was out to prove he still has what it takes to fight ranked opponents.
It didn’t take long to see why Vallejos is one of the most exciting young contenders in UFC right now. The Argentine fighter was landing at volume the second the first round started. Emmett was loading up and hoping to land one big shot, but it allowed Vallejos even more time to get off offense. Eventually, Vallejos landed a powerful right hand inside that dropped Emmett to the canvas. Vallejos followed up with nasty ground-and-pound before Emmett somehow returned to his feet. That’s when Vallejos unloaded another barrage of strikes along the fence that dropped Emmett again and forced the referee’s hand.
Check out the video highlights below and let us know who you think Vallejos should fight next!
For complete UFC Vegas 114 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
