Josh Emmett is back in action at UFC Fight Night Philadelphia, facing Michael Johnson in a featherweight division attraction.
The fighter is coming off of a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens at UFC On Fox 28 and suffered from vertigo as a result.
“It was a struggle physically, mentally, financially,” Emmett told MMA Junkie. “It was a rough year with some of the injuries. “Especially the vertigo; I know with bones and stuff in time they’ll heal, but with the vertigo every morning I would wake up – I’d say for two months at least and just the room spinning. The way I could describe it would be if you were in the middle of the ocean, the worst storm ever on a small boat. Everything is spinning, the ground is moving, I felt nauseous, sick and it was hard for me to think, ‘Is this ever going to go away? Will I be able to fight?’ Deep down inside I knew it would and then as soon as it did I would be right back in training. It was tough. I’m a fighter, I’ve had tons of injuries throughout my athletic career, not just MMA, and I’ve got over that. I’ve gone through a lot of things, struggled in chasing this dream and other dreams I’ve had. This little setback is going to stop me.”
Emmett no longer suffers from the medical condition and immediately returned to training once it went away.
While Emmett has many ways to achieve victory, all Emmett believes he has to do is connect with Johnson once to get the win.
“I feel like I’m a more well rounded mixed martial artist and I just feel like I have the power and the pressure I possess,” Emmett said. “I feel like I will connect. I only have to connect once and I have 15 minutes to do so.”
UFC Fight Night Philadelphia takes place on Saturday, March 30 from the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.
