Chael Sonnen says Josh Emmett is "the closest thing" to Alexander Volkanovski

Chael Sonnen believes featherweight fighter Josh Emmett is the "closest thing" in the division to champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Emmet put on a Fight of the Night performance against Calvin Kattar and earned a narrow split-decision victory. Sonnen admitted that besides Max Holloway, 'The Fighting Falmer' has the best chance of dethroning 'The Great'.

Josh Emmett and Calvin Kattar stepped into the octagon looking to break into the upper echelons of the featherweight division. Emmett, who hasn't lost a fight since 2018, was looking to extend his already impressive four-fight winning streak. While 'The Boston Finisher' has had mixed results of late, his last three performances, including the bout against Emmett, have been awarded a FOTN bonus.

Speaking on an episode of Beyond The Fight on his YouTube channel. Chael Sonnen admitted that all of Josh Emmet's best attributes in the octagon remind him of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski:

"[Josh] Emmett is the closest thing to [Alexander] Volkanovski that division has. Truly... The way that he fights, I'm talking about being a big strong guy that's got incredible endurance. That can use the wrestling offensively or defensively but he prefers to use the hands. He's a great competitor... This guy is solid. He's very good. He's very tough, very durable. He reminds me a lot of Volkanovski, I've got to make that comparison."

'The American Gangster' continued to heap praise on the 37-year-old featherweight by adding that he doesn't yet know what the ceiling is for Josh Emmett in his MMA career.

The win for Emmett over Kattar has already stirred up the rankings, moving him to No.4 in the division. Sonnen may soon get his wish and see the American face champion Volkanovski.

Watch Chael Sonnen's comments about Josh Emmett below:

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Josh Emmett wants to fight winner of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3

It looks like it won't just be fans of MMA tuning into UFC 276 to see the highly anticipated trilogy of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway. Josh Emmett has expressed his desire to fight the winner for the featherweight title.

After extending his win streak to five and moving into the top five of the rankings, Emmett has his sights set on championship status.

Three post-fight bonuses in his last four octagon appearances have lit a fire under 'The Fighting Falmer'. During the post-fight press conference, Emmett stated that he believes he is the best 145lb fighter on the planet:

"We need some new blood in the division and I know I can compete with them. I'm the best featherweight on this planet, and I'm ready. I want to be sitting cageside in two weeks to see who I'm fighting next."