Lerone Murphy believes he has found a direct route to a title opportunity in the UFC featherweight division. He is modeling his approach after Diego Lopes, who is contending for the championship at UFC 314.
Following his dominant unanimous decision victory over Josh Emmett in the main event of UFC Vegas 105, the undefeated British fighter expressed his desire to face Brian Ortega next. Murphy clarified that this isn`t due to any personal animosity, but rather because he sees beating Ortega as a way to replicate Lopes` path to a title fight against Alexander Volkanovski. Lopes secured his title shot after defeating Ortega.
“I’ve been considering a fight with Ortega for some time,” Murphy stated at the post-fight press conference. “Seeing Diego Lopes get a title shot after beating him shows me that’s a viable route. I also fought Dan Ige, just like Lopes did. I need to face opponents like Ortega to move forward.”
In his post-fight interview after defeating Emmett, Murphy explicitly requested to face any fighter currently ranked in the top 5 of the featherweight division, signaling his ambition to rapidly ascend into title contention.
With an impressive undefeated record of 16 wins and 1 draw, Murphy feels he has earned the right to challenge top-ranked opponents. However, he acknowledges a slight frustration with his inability to secure finishes in his recent fights. His victory over Emmett marked his seventh decision win out of his nine UFC appearances.
“Our strategy played out exactly as planned,” Murphy explained regarding his win. “The goal was to control the distance, strike from range, and catch him as he moved in. While I was aiming for a finish, it just didn’t materialize this time.”
“But overall, it was a masterful performance. We continue to pursue those finishes, accumulate wins, and ultimately strive for that title shot.”
Despite his desire to end the fight decisively against Emmett, Murphy recognized the danger of engaging in close-quarters combat with such a powerful puncher. Therefore, his strategy emphasized constant movement and utilizing strikes from a safe distance, which ultimately proved successful.
“I absorbed a few blows on my gloves, but nothing significant landed cleanly,” Murphy commented. “I was fully aware of his knockout power, given his past finishes of strong opponents. My priority was to remain defensively sound and minimize risks.”
Although all judges scored the bout in favor of Murphy, he expressed surprise that two judges awarded Emmett two rounds in the five-round contest. Despite the victory, Murphy struggled to understand how the judges could have scored those rounds for Emmett.
“I believe I clearly won four rounds,” Murphy asserted. “If he won a round, it might have been when I threw a kick and he briefly gained top position, but I don’t believe he landed any significant strikes throughout the fight. Perhaps he was slightly more active in one of the rounds, but that was the extent of it.”
