Josh Emmett Prepared For '15 Minutes of Hell' Against Mirsad Bektic

Josh Emmett got back into the win column in a big way last time out. At UFC Philadelphia he knocked out Michael Johnson in the third round. It was his first fight in 13 months after suffering a brutal knockout to Jeremy Stephens that broke several bones in his face.

Now, after getting back into the win column, Emmett is looking to start a winning streak inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he takes on Mirsad Bektic at UFC Sacramento. The 34-year-old is excited for this fight given it is in Sacramento and has a bevy of teammates on the card.

"Yeah, it is awesome. I feel like the gym, and the atmosphere is at an all-time high," Emmett said to Sherdog.com. "We have six of us on the card. It is awesome, everyone is camp, everyone staying positive. Just keeping the moment rolling into fight week."

For Emmett, he knows this fight against Bektic will be a tough one. The 28-year-old is 13-1 as a pro and trains at TriStar in Montreal under Firas Zahabi. However, something going against Bektic is the fact that he has not fought since UFC 225 in June of 2018. But, Emmett believes ring rust will not be a factor for him for a number of reasons.

"I don't really believe in ring rust. If you look at my last fight, I was out for 13 months and coming back from a loss and a severe injury. I came back from 13 months and knocked out a tough veteran in Johnson. He is coming off of a win 13 months ago, and Mirsad comes from a great camp," he explained. "I know he has been in the gym and just working on his stuff. I don't think it will be a factor. Mirsad doesn't fight that often so this doesn't seem like his thing. He has been in the UFC for quite some time and doesn't fight often."

The Team Alpha Male product knows how important this fight is to win. He understands he can't lose again and take another step back in a stacked featherweight division. But, he knows winning will be easier said than done. Emmett says Bektic is a tough opponent and should be undefeated had Darren Elkins not survived the two rounds and made an epic comeback.

"It is always hard to say how these fights will play out. This sport is so unforgiving, man anything can happen in this fight. I do see my hand getting raised," Emmett said. "At the end of the fight, my hand will be raised, I do a lot of visualization and work with a mind coach. No matter what happens, I am going to keep on pressing forward. Mirsad, though, is a dangerous opponent and has one loss to his record. Mirsad could be undefeated now and should be a top-five fighter. He is very good everywhere so it is going to be a tough fight and I am willing to go through 15-minutes of hell to get my hand raised."

If he does indeed get a win over Bektic, the veteran of the sport wants a top-five opponent next to start his climb up the division. He knows he has what it takes to be a world champion, and the journey continues on Saturday in Sacramento.

"The featherweight division is the deepest division in the UFC. A big win over Mirsad will catapult me to the top," said Emmett. "I only want to fight people in front of me. I took the fight against him, and a big win over him gets me a top-five opponent gets me closer to the title shot."

Why he is so confident he can be a world champion at featherweight is due to the power he holds. He knows he can knock anybody out and only needs one punch to do. So, he believes that is what makes him so dangerous to other fighters and will help him win fights until he gets the belt he so desires.

"I feel like, and I have said this multiple times, if you ask anyone on our team, who hits the hardest in the room, nine times out of 10 people say I do," he said. "Just the weight in my hands, the power shots. At lightweight I had power, knocking people out, but the cut to 145 the power is still there so it only takes one shot and it will be over."

Knockout or not, Josh Emmett is confident he adds another "L" to Bektic's record on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 155.