Ilia Topuria Upends Tough Josh Emmett To Take Lopsided Decision at UFC on ABC 5

Unbeaten featherweight prospect Ilia Topuria passed the toughest test of his career Saturday after outclassing Josh Emmett (50-44, 50-42, 49-45) in the UFC on ABC 5 main event at Vystar Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville.

Coming in ranked No. 9 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight standings, Topuria (14-0) has been stellar throughout his five fight UFC run, but a showdown against No. 5 Emmett was a clear step up in competition. Both fighters willingly kept the fight on the feet and Topuria took advantage. Using short, efficient crisp counters, Topuria pierced Emmett on the feet and had the former interim title challenger leaking blood early in the bout.

Emmett’s (18-4) toughness was on full display, but the 38-year-old contender was a step behind "El Matador" all evening. Topuria’s efficiency forced Emmett to rely heavily on haymakers and out of range combinations. As the fight went on, Topuria mixed in heavy leg kicks to further break down Emmett’s guard.

Despite dropping Emmett multiple times throughout the fight, the finish never came for Topuria, but the performance was a masterclass. Topuria should easily have a place waiting for him in the Top 5 and a potential title shot could be in the near future.

Surging Barber Continues to Impress

In the co-main event, flyweights Maycee Barber and Amanda Ribas stole the show with a high-paced gritty war that left both fighters blood soaked after two rounds.

No. 11 ranked Barber (13-2) spent little time blooding No. 9 Ribas in Round 1 and nearly ended the fight after dropping the Brazilian with a barrage of punches. Ribas lasted the round and almost turned the tables on Barber in the second frame.

With Ribas coming on strong and drawing some blood of her own, Barber once again put together a collection of shots to wobble and floor Ribas for good. Barber would stamp her place in the Top 10 with a few finishing blows that forced referee Keith Peterson to step in with 1:18 left in the round. Barber’s win was fifth straight since her February 2021 loss to current champion Alexa Grasso.

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Eye Poke Halts Anticipated Slugfest

The lone heavyweight showdown of the day between Austen Lane (12-3 1 No Contest) and Justin Tafa (6-3, 1 NC) was over before it started. Referee Dan Miragliotta called the bout a "no contest" after Tafa took an awful, but accidental, poke to his right eye early in the first round. After receiving five minutes to recover, Tafa’s eye looked even worse and it was clear that he couldn’t continue.

Onama Shines for Factory X

Whatever was said in David Onama’s corner after the first round was exactly what he needed to hear. The "Silent Assassin" made some noise in the featherweight division after brutally knocking out Gabriel Santos in the second round (4:13) Saturday afternoon.

Onama (11-2) had issues finding his preferred stance against Santos and his debut fight with Factory X looked to be in danger. Whenever Onama fought from an orthodox stance he would repeatedly eat overhand rights over his 74-inch jab, but when Onama switched to southpaw, he had difficulties with Santos left straight. On the ground, Santos kept Onama cautious with dangerous armbar attempts and went back to his corner feeling confident.

The beginning of the end started with a pair of thudding elbows from Onama midway through the second round, Santos’ lights were officially shut off after Onama landed a right hand from the basement that put Santos out cold, giving Onama his third win in his last four fights.

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Allen Conquers Silva in Slugfest

No. 13 ranked middleweight Brendan Allen has called for a Top 10 matchup and one could be coming his way soon after finishing Bruno Silva in the first round of their 185-pound showdown on Saturday.

Allen weathered Silva’s storm early but took some heavy shots before landing some of his own. Allen put Silva flat on his back with with a right hand before finishing him off with a rear-naked choke at the 4:39 mark. Allen had a big wish list post fight and called for a title shot with UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya or a title eliminator bout against Jared Cannonier. Allen's won his last five fights and his last three by rear-naked choke.

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