Jamall Leantwean Emmers (born July 24, 1989) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who currently competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Background

Emmers transitioned to MMA from a high school and college

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

background, but it was actually MMA that first inspired him. A fan of watching MMA fights with his dad and brother, Jamall's dad would rent

PRIDE FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

tapes from Blockbuster for them to watch. Emmers said he joined his high school wrestling team specifically to lay a foundation for a career in MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career and DWCS

Emmers racked up 13–3 record in American regional circuit, most notably holding a decision wins against future UFC fighters Alexander Hernandez and

Cory Sandhagen Cory James Sandhagen (born April 20, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional sin ...

at LFA 5. Emmers was invited to the

Dana White's Contender Series Dana White's Contender Series, formerly named Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, is an American mixed martial arts promotion. In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold the competition weekly on UFC Fight Pass (It has since been mov ...

. He faced Julian Erosa at Dana White's Contender Series 11 on June 26, 2018. Despite knocking Erosa down in the first round, Emmers lost the fight via second-round knockout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After the Contender Series loss Emmers won four straight fights and was signed to the UFC to fight

Movsar Evloev Movsar Magomedovich Evloev (born February 11, 1994) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also competed ...

UFC 248 ''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

on March 7, 2020, on short notice, replacing

Douglas Silva de Andrade Douglas Silva de Andrade (born June 22, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Silva de Andrade grew up in Castanhal, Brazil. He has an o ...

. However, Evloev was injured in a motorcycle accident and was replaced by Giga Chikadze. Emmers lost the fight via split decision. Emmers was expected to make his sophomore appearance in the organization against Timur Valiev at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan on August 1, 2020. However, Valiev withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Vince Cachero. Emmers won the fight via unanimous decision. Emmers was next expected to face Chas Skelly at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on February 20, 2021. However, the bout was cancelled moments before it was expected to begin as Emmers suffered back spasms backstage rendering him unable to compete. Emmers faced Pat Sabatini on August 28, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze. Emmers knocked down Sabatini early in the fight, but was caught by a heel hook and forced to submit in round one. Emmers was scheduled to face Daniel Pineda on May 14, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 36. However, the bout was scrapped in late April for unknown reasons. Emmers faced Khusein Askhabov on February 18, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 219 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 219'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 77'', and ''UFC Vegas 69'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 18, 2023, at ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Emmers faced Jack Jenkins on June 24, 2023 at UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria. He lost the fight via split decision. 10 out of 10 media sources scored the fight in favor of Emmers. Emmers faced Dennis Buzukja on November 11, 2023, at UFC 295. At the weigh-ins, Emmers came in at 147 pounds (one pound over the featherweight non-title bout limit). His bout with Buzukja proceeded at catchweight with Emmers forfeiting 20 percent of his purse. He won the fight via TKO in the first minute of the first round. Emmers faced Nate Landwehr on March 30, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 54. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Emmers faced Gabriel Miranda on March 29, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 64. He won the fight by technical knockout in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

*Hero FC **Hero FC Featherweight Championship (one time; former) ***Two successful title defenses *SMASH Global **SMASH Global Featherweight Championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 21–8 , Gabriel Miranda , TKO (knee to the body and punches) , UFC on ESPN: Moreno vs. Erceg , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

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, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–8 , Nate Landwehr , KO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:43 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–7 , Dennis Buzukja , TKO (punches) , UFC 295 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–7 , Jack Jenkins , Decision (split) , UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 , Khusein Askhabov , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–6 , Pat Sabatini , Submission (heel hook) , UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 , Vince Cachero , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–5 , Giga Chikadze , Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 , Rafael Barbosa , Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) , LFA 81 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:39 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Jay Cucciniello , TKO (punches) , Final Fight Championship 38 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:53 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Caio Machado , TKO (retirement) , M-1 Global: Road to M-1 USA 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Fard Muhammad , TKO (punches) , SMASH Global 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:55 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 , Julian Erosa , KO (head kick and punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 11 , , style="text-align:center;", 2 , style="text-align:center;", 1:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Guilherme Faria de Souza , TKO (punches) , LFA 36 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:18 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Chris Avila , Decision (unanimous) , GKO 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , LFA 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Rivaldo Junior , Decision (unanimous) , RFA 41 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Thiago Moisés , TKO (punches) , RFA 38: Moisés vs. Emmers , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:52 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Ray Cervera , Decision (unanimous) , Tachi Palace Fights 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Merwyn Rivera , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Tachi Palace Fights 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Rey Trujillo , Submission (triangle choke) , Hero FC 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:48 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Michael Rodriguez , TKO (punches) , Hero FC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Chris Pecero , TKO (punches) , Hero FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:39 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Brett Ewing , Decision (unanimous) , Hero FC 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Brett Ewing , TKO (punches) , Hero FC: Texas Pride , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:54 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Alexander Hernandez , Decision (split) , Hero FC: Pride of the Valley 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Ernest de la Cruz , Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 17 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Matt Mazurek , Decision (split) , ABG Promotions , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , James Gonzalez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Big Dawg Promotions: In the Cage I Trust , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:54 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmers, Jamall Living people 1989 births Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling American male mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen