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:
Josh Emmett vs. Kevin Vallejos
Amanda Lemos vs. Gillian Robertson
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Bruno Silva
Eryk Anders vs. Brad Tavares
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Vitor Petrino
Ion Cutelaba vs. Oumar Sy
Bia Mesquita vs. Montserrat Rendon
Elijah Smith vs. Su Young You
Luan Lacerda vs. Rinya Nakamura
Harry Hardwick vs. Marwan Rahiki
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC announces main event between top featherweights