Has Lerone Murphy Secured a Championship Opportunity?
UFC 319 will forever be remembered as the night of the spinning elbow. After Carlos Prates flatlined Geoff Neal with a devastating spinning elbow, it was hard to imagine any of the fights that followed would produce such a highlight. However, it was the co-main event that produced the knockout of the night. After losing the majority of the first round, Manchester’s own Lerone Murphy perfectly timed a spinning elbow, rendering his opponent, Aaron Pico, unconscious. With the Featherweight Division in a transition period, has Murphy’s UFC 319 performance earned him a shot at Alexander Volkanovski?
Entering UFC 319 on three weeks' notice, ‘The Miracle’ had the tall task of welcoming the dangerous Aaron Pico into the UFC. Entering the fight riding the highs of an eight-fight win streak, Murphy was still the betting underdog against the former Bellator Champion. Aaron Pico would push the pace early, forcing Murphy against the cage. Despite the rather slow start for Murphy, he would find some early success by countering Pico’s rapid pressure with knees. After realizing Pico would follow him around the octagon, Murphy landed a spinning elbow right as the UFC newcomer was closing the distance, thus finishing the fight in the first round.
Though he may lack the fanfare of other Featherweight contenders, Lerone Murphy has certainly proved himself deserving of more attention. Boasting an undefeated record of 17-0-1, Murphy has been trying to separate himself from other contenders. Before his UFC 319 bout, many fans viewed contenders such as Mosvar Evloev, Diego Lopes, and Jean Silva as more worthy challengers to Alexander Volkanovski’s Featherweight Championship. However, after Murphy’s perfectly calculated spinning elbow knockout, Murphy just propelled himself ahead of his competition.
Lerone Murphy is not known to have the most exciting fighting style in the UFC. A point fighter, Murphy is more likely to earn a decision victory rather than a finish. However, despite his slower pace, Murphy has the skillset to make a fight with Volkanovski difficult for the champion. Murphy is faster than the current champion and has proven that he can make the adjustments to win a fight. While Murphy may enter the bout with a slight advantage in the standup realm, Volkanovski’s pure strength and physicality could pose issues for Murphy. Whether Murphy can defeat Volkanovski or not is a question that demands an answer. However, a question that no longer needs answering is whether Murphy belongs in a Featherweight Championship fight.
