Josh Thomson names featherweight contender who could knock Alexander Volkanovski out

Josh Thomson (left), Alexander Volkanovski (right) [Image courtesy of @therealpunk on Twitter]
Josh Thomson (left), Alexander Volkanovski (right) [Image courtesy of @therealpunk on Twitter]

Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson believes featherweight Josh Emmett has the power to knock out the 145lb champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Josh Emmett is the No.3-ranked featherweight in the division and is on an impressive five-fight winning run. 'The Fighting Falmer' is known for his deadly KO power that has seen him finish Ricardo Lamas, Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic. The 37-year-old most recently contested a Fight of the Night split-decision victory over Calvin Kattar last month.

Speaking on the latest episode of WEIGHING IN, Josh Thomson compared both Alexander Volkanovski and Josh Emmett, admitting the latter could pose a serious power threat to the champion:

"I don't think Max [Holloway] had the power to knock him [Volkanovski] out. Emmett's got the power to knock him out... I look at Josh Emmett, I look at him, style, body wise. Speedwise, I give to Volk [Volkanovski], powerwise I give it to Emmett, wrestling-wise I give it to Emmett. It could be forced to be a standing fight."

At UFC 276 'The Great' stunned the MMA world in his trilogy fight with Max Holloway. Heading into the bout 2-0 up on a head-to-head, the Australian proceeded to tear 'Blessed' apart.

Although there is an argument for Josh Emmett to challenge Alexander Volkanovski next, the 33-year-old may have his eyes on moving up to lightweight. In his post-fight interview, the featherweight champion hinted at his desire to try out the 155lb division.

Catch the latest episode of WEIGHING IN here:

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Alexander Volkanovski's coach reveals he had broken thumb during trilogy fight with Max Holloway

One of the most surprising pieces of information to come out after UFC 276 was revealed by Volkanovski's coach Eugene Bareman.

Eugene Bareman is the founder of City Kickboxing and also the coach of middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Bareman gave fans some insight into the moment him and his corner team learned that Volkanovski thought he had a broken thumb after the second round:

"I just leant into his head and said 'Don't mention that bloody hand again.' I said, 'We can't do nothing about it now, I don't want you to mention that again.' He knew what I meant, I meant evaporate completely out of your mind... There's nothing you can do about a broken thumb in the middle of a fight, it's a championship fight... You can still punch with a broken thumb."

Based on arguably his best performance in the octagon to date, fans would likely never have known 'The Great' was potentially injured. The Australian's win at UFC 276 extended his 145lb title defensive streak to four and his overall UFC winning run to 12.

Catch Eugene Bareman discussing UFC 276 here:

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Edited by John Cunningham