Kevin Vallejos is getting another step up in the UFC rankings, this time against a perennial top contender.
UFC Fight Night 269 will feature a headliner between Vallejos (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Josh Emmett (19-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) – five rounds, March 14 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Friday.
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Vallejos, 24, had a stupendous first calendar year in the UFC, so much so that he earned MMA Junkie’s 2025 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year award. He debuted with a knockout of Seung Woo Choi, defeated Danny Silva by unanimous decision, and then turned in a spectacular spinning backfist knockout of promotion-ranked Giga Chikadze.
Emmett, 40, will aim to derail Vallejos’ hype and snap a two-fight skid in the process. Emmett has been a staple of the upper echelon of the UFC’s featherweight division for years. Even though he’s lost four of five, the defeats have come against top-tier contenders and a champion: Yair Rodriguez, Lerone Murphy, Youssef Zalal, and Ilia Topuria.
The current UFC Fight Night 269 lineup includes:
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Josh Emmett vs. Kevin Vallejos
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Amanda Lemos vs. Gillian Robertson
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Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Bruno Silva
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Eryk Anders vs. Brad Tavares
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Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Vitor Petrino
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Ion Cutelaba vs. Oumar Sy
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Bia Mesquita vs. Montserrat Rendon
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Elijah Smith vs. Su Young You
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Luan Lacerda vs. Rinya Nakamura
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Harry Hardwick vs. Marwan Rahiki
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC announces main event between top featherweights
