Another lightweight bout between Kurt Pellegrino (12-4) and Rob Emerson (8-6) is in the works for UFC Fight Night 17 at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 7.
Already, the Spike TV special features two other 155-pound match ups between Mac Danzig and Josh Neer, as well as Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca, respectively.
Pellegrino will look to string together consecutive wins for the first time in more than a year. “Batman” is coming off a solid unanimous decision win over Thiago Tavares at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” back in September.
He has flirted with being recognized as a top competitor in a very crowded division on numerous occasions throughout his career; however, he has been plagued by inconsistency in recent bouts. Pellegrino can get back in the thick of things in 2009 with an early win to start the year over a surging Emerson.
The former “Lords of South County” rich kid gang member is fresh off the most impressive performance of his career, blasting Manny Gamburyan at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” in August to record a 12-second knockout.
Prior to the win, the former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 rebounded from a rare double knockout-tapout against Gray Maynard to defeat Keita Nakamura via split decision at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” in February.
Emerson is currently riding a six-fight win streak, which includes the “No Contest” against Maynard.
To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 17 fight card and rumors click here.
54 Comments »
I’m all in on batman
what is emerson still doing in the ufc?
yeah, he ko’ed out manny gamb. but he needs to make “cap room for better fighters.
franca , jardine need to go!
wtf man those are contenders not punching bags. just bc you dont like them doesnt mean they dont belong in the UFC. you dont know anything about the real fighters in the UFC.you prob think Vera and houston alexander blong in the ufc ROFL
Jardine?!?!!? the same Jardine who KOed the current LHC? the same Jardine who beat the former LHC? he may not be the #1 contender but he is no punching bag and has every right to be in the UFC especially if Pellegrino is in the UFC
agreed…Jardine is going nowhere…not that marketable but please, the guy has won some huge fights not to mention beating Vera last time out
I didn’t think batman could hang with Tavares but he proved me wrong. This fight is pretty straight forward - takedown and armbar possibly RNC.
I disagree, I can’t say why, but I’ve always been a fan of emerson. I guess I just like the guys that go on the TUF show to fight, and not be stupid!
O.C.’s most wanted Rob “K-Fed” Emerson? Awwww-yeah!!!!!
if there is ever someone to root against, its rob emerson… rich kid jerk off who is in a gang that beats up random people on the streets… this guy is absolute scum and no one should be a fan of his! get this guy out of the UFC!
I like Emerson, but I think pellegrino will be too much for him. Both are gonna be hungry. Pellegrino is coming off his loss, and Emerson off that ko of manny which I’m sure will give him some confidence. But I think pellegrinos wrestling is gonna come into play and ultimatly, get him the W.
i’m a fan of emerson but i do agree, pellegrino will be too much, even though i heard he’s got an unbelieveable takedown defense, i think pellegrino will win by sub, 2nd rd.
I actually like this match up. Ever since Rob KOed Manny in 5 seconds I can’t help but like him. Pellegrino should be too much, but a good scrap all the same.
i just can’t like rob, but it was a nice knock out of manny, i see him losing this one. good call john.
Thank you Roy! Hate Emerson, but I was happy that he Ko;ed manny, I dont see Batman losing to the “saint”. Rob will be on his back the entire time
Agreed. This is an easy one to call.
Absolutely. I thought the same thing. MISMATCH!
That’s what people thought when he fought Manny Gamburyan and Rob knocked him out.Same this here Emerson knocks Pellegrino the fuck out.
I bet on Manvil last time, so I have no choice but to root for Pellegrino to put the beat down on Emerson. Not that he needs my support..
If you bet on Manny because you like him, that would add you to the short list of people who do, along with his Mom and Karo.
BNF-
Classic.
lol, nah I just figured he was gonna put Emerson away in “short” order. Bad bet =(
BNF. thats all it took for me to start taking a shining to rob. someone knocking out manny makes me feel good inside.
it made me feel all warm and fuzzy…….
wait a minute….. Emerson is 8-6 with a 6 fight win streak? so at one point he was 2-6 or 3-6 with the no contest?
Yeah and take a look at the fighters he was facing at the start of his career Pulver,Guillard,Mishima,Camacho,and Javier Vasquez.He didn’t start out facing scrubs. Now he’s a better fighter for it same thing happens here as the Manny fight Pellegrino is knocked out.
i love wathcing emerson ko manny it made so happy and it if i recall that fight was part of ufc 84, and let me tell you that was my favorite fight i hate manny more than any other fighter and to see him get koed by a emerson was amazing, but onto this fight i dont think emerson has a chance in this fight, pelligrino can hold his own standing and he has the better wrestling and better bjj, i think pelligrino wins this via first round submission
i think bat man wins this one
That’s a pretty bold prediction bryant. (sarcasm)
whats going on with the TUF 8 finale? 10 days away and it has 4 confirmed fights. johnson vs. burns II and gouveia vs. mcdonald plus the two finals for the show. i know they usually throw some of the more decent guys who didn’t win on the card to fill it up, but are there enough?
becuase the show isn’t over yet dummy.
derrrr. i know the show’s not over. what i’m saying is where are the other 5 or 6 fights that haven’t been announced going to come from? theres no way there are 12 guys on that show that didn’t win that deserve to fight in the ufc.
We should know by tonight.
Its because the Finale’s are usually chock full of fighters from the TUF show, not just the finalists. They will probably fill up the majority of the prelim bouts, and perhaps one will make the main card. For example, if Junie loses, I can still see the UFC putting him on the Main Card of the finale, perhaps in the first bout of the night. I am REALLY looking forward to Junie vs Efrain tonite.
JUNIE! JUNIE! JUNIE!
everybody knows that tuf airs back to back tonight right? 4 fights tonight on tuf and it comes on AFTER WEC’S event. that’s 4 hours of mma. it’s like super wednesday to me.
i was saying this yestersay…Its BRUTAL…I realize its a TUF finale but please…this card is weak even if it was an undercard
junie , nover , efrain , nelson and maybe palowski and roop
bader , vinny , eliot . krystoff , kyle . primm will all probobly be in the ufc
the two finales will be good fights johnson vs burns was a good fight the first time and i see gouvea koing macdonald
and tuf 8 episodes 11 and 12 are on the tonight back to back and then tomorow they will anouce the main event and the rest of the card
AHHH, so each episode tonite DOES contain 2 fights each and we will now all 4 finalists?????
Anyone notice that episode 12 is called “3 Strikes”..
Hmm… wonder if Junie is out?!
there are at least 8 or 9 guys who deserve to be in the ufc
i think eliot will upset bader and beat vinny/krystoff winner
fight night 17 is looking great
amir sadollah vs nick catone
mac danzig vs josh neer
joe lauzon vs hermes franca
rob emerson vs kurt pellagrino
another fight and a solid main event and its complete maybe nate diaz vs clay guida for the main event
I’m going to steal john’s thunder but I actually heard these two were fighting before he posted it in that other thread.
Yeah me too. Craziness.
i hope batman destroys rob, in brutal fashion might i add
this should be great fight. Both of these guys like to bring it.I don’t care who wins, because I like to watch both of them fight.I would like to see the winner fight Spencer the King Fisher.
Yeah Batman’s got this easy. I’d like to say tko but I’m going to go with a Decision. Emerson is pretty tough.
I think Batman is one of the most under rated light weights out there. He is a great wrestler with a black belt in BJJ and a solid striking game. I would like to see him get a fight with Frankie Edgar if he gets passed Emmerson. If Emmerson pulls off the upset I’d like to see him get a rematch with Gray Maynard.
Six paragraphs and 41 posts about Pellegrino and not one mention of Kimbo Slice?
Where are the Kimbo haters?
I’m with action Jackson….. I think you might be confuse waterboy
are you thinking petruzelli?
Pellegrino’s gym in Belmar, NJ is sick. Not using that as the only reason on why hes winning this fight but he’s definitely underrated and was beating Nate Diaz that entire fight till he got caught with that submission.
Pellegrino for the win.
Everyone on here can just stop. Kurt is a bbj blackbelt for a long time now. He could sub Emerson anywhere he pleases. Forget all that, he will outstrike emerson as wll. Kurt has 25 pro fights ( he lost to Fickett, Diaz, Stevenson - thats a tall order) forget what sherdog says I know ( 21-4). He is an elite wrestler as well. Wrestling and a bjj black belt what a bad ass mixture that will be for Emerson who does what well? Who fought and beat who well? He lost to Maynard, he was losing too. He flash KO’ed Manny who lunged at him like a dummy. Emerson is nobody. Kurt has been fighting longer than just his fluke lose to diaz. Kurt FTW. I will predict TKo referee stoppage. I do not think it will even go to the ground. Kurt has much better hands, he is bigger and stronger. Experienced, he fought joe daddy to a split decision with a broken hand a few minutes into the first round. He has never been KO’d and has a chin of granite. He got kicked in the face and basically knocked out by alberto crane and pulled it together and tko’d that Black belt. Where does Emerson come in better? Everyone against kurt just stop. Do your research he is a contender in there.
And PS - Jardine is a beast, not #1 but he is a beast.
Hermes was no.1 contender not too long ago and took Sherk the distance. Learn your mma.
Edgar and Kurt would fight only for something regarding the 155 title. No 1 contender or for the title.
I could not have said it any better Andrew