Rob Emerson Believes Victory FC Championship Will Put Him Back in the UFC | MMAWeekly.com

Following a nearly two-year layoff, former UFC lightweight Rob Emerson returned to action in June at Victory FC 51 against Shawn West to pick up a second-round submission win.

For Emerson, the win over West was proof positive that he made the right changes to his game in his time off to become a top tier fighter once again.

“(West) was a game fighter,” Emerson told MMAWeekly.com. “I was coming off a year-and-a-half layoff, and I didn’t see any ring rust, my body responded well to the weight cut (to 135 pounds), and the performance was good.

“I thought that fight was a good display that shows the changes I’ve made as an athlete. It wasn’t so much the physical, but a mental change. I’ve learned so much about the mental game and believing in yourself and visualization and stuff like that.”

Emerson believes that with his mental game catching up to his physical abilities, he could have an opportunity to get back up to the top level of MMA.

“People have told me that I’m a champion from the neck down; I just had to fix what was up in my head,” said Emerson. “I believe that I’ve gone out there and done that. I feel like I’m a new man; not just a new fighter, but a new athlete; and my performances have shown it.”

Emerson (18-11) will look for the second win of his comeback when he takes on Ryan Roberts (21-11-1) in a 145-pound championship main event at Victory FC 54 on Friday in Omaha, Neb., to be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass.

“I just feel I have to get out there, get aggressive and hurt (Roberts),” Emerson said. “He’s a smaller-framed guy, stocky, but he’s been in the game a long time and has a lot of experience himself. He’s got a lot of muscle, but with that being said, it takes a lot of oxygen to run that muscle.

“We’ll see if he’s done the work or not. I’m going to come out in the first round and put it on him and see if he breaks or not. If he doesn’t break, I’ll keep at it until he does break. I’m going to win this fight by knockout 100 percent.”

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Should Emerson pick up back-to-back wins for the first time in over two years, and with a title in hand, he sees no reason why he can’t make his move back up to the biggest stage of MMA in 2017.

“I think every fighter fights to get into the UFC,” said Emerson. “I feel like I’m in my prime right now. I just want to put on performances that people want to watch over and over again, and people want to talk about.

“I think I can definitely cause some waves in the bantamweight and featherweight division in the UFC. I believe I’ll be going there 100-percent after getting this title.”

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