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British UFC star survives ‘insane’ slam during main event to stay unbeaten and set up title shot
Lerone Murphy fought back from a vicious slam at UFC Vegas 105 to outpoint Josh Emmett and remain undefeated. The 33-year-old Mancunian now boasts a perfect 16-0 record with one draw and wants to fight for the UFC featherweight title very soon. Murphy landed over 100 more strikes than Emmett during their five-round boutGetty The Mancunian claimed a deserved unanimous decision win to go 16-0Getty Murphy was cautious of Emmett’s one-punch knockout power as their five-round main event bout at UFC Apex got underway. He remained on the outside, using his reach advantage to pick at the American, who had knocked out Bryce Mitchell in less than two minutes during his last fight. At one point in the second round, Emmett had ‘The Miracle’ pinned up against the cage. With nowhere else to go, he lifted Murphy with both hands above his head before driving him with full force straight into the canvas. “That was insane!” British UFC legend Michael Bisping said as Emmett pounced on Murphy in an attempt to finish him on the ground. However, the Manchester man recovered well, and his striking remained solid as the clock ticked on and we entered the championship rounds. Although Emmett completed four of his 11 takedowns, with over three minutes of control time, Murphy landed over 100 more strikes to earn a convincing unanimous decision win. Two judges awarded the contest 48-47 in his favour, while a third scored it a more convincing 49-46. Ahead of his main event clash, Murphy told talkSPORT.com that he was eyeing up a title shot, and his stance, unsurprisingly, didn’t change after beating Emmett. “I want a title,” Murphy said when asked by Bisping in his post-fight interview what he wanted next. Murphy was slammed hard early in the bout, but recovered to outpoint Emmett View Tweet: https://twitter.com/JoshEmmettUFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw He has said several times that he wants a UFC title shot soonGetty “But give me anybody in that top five, top three, even give me one of them guys and I’ll fight them in July. “Let’s go. I want to keep this train going. I want to get to the championship, stay active, another two fights this year.” Murphy proceeded to name No.6 ranked featherweight Brian Ortega as a potential next opponent, as he has now moved into the top eight among the 145-pound UFC fighters. The UFC featherweight title was vacated by Ilia Topuria in February, with No.1 ranked Alexander Volkanovski fighting No.3 ranked Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314 for the strap this weekend. Murphy told talkSPORT that he would prefer to face Volkanovski for the title due to his ‘name value’, and is backing him to win on the Miami card that also features Paddy Pimblett‘s co-main event with Michael Chandler. ‘The Miracle’ has never tasted defeated in MMA, but his extraordinary talents have gone largely unnoticed by the more casual UFC fanbase. Murphy wants Volkanovski for the featherweight title down the lineGetty The Australian fights Brazil’s Diego Lopes for the 145lb belt at UFC 314Getty He has gained nowhere near the traction that names like fellow British UFC stars Tom Aspinall and Pimblett have gained in the last five years. Although Murphy is rubbing shoulders with the best fighters on the planet, he’s not sure why he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. “You tell me. I’d love to know,” he said. “Obviously, I think one of the aspects is I’m not a big talker. I’m quiet. I’m quite reserved. I get in there, do my job and that’s it. “I’m not big on social media and whatnot. Obviously, that has a big part to play in it. “But I don’t know…all I know is if some of the fighters had the record I had and beat the names I beat, the whole country would be behind them in it.”
Lerone Murphy fought back from a vicious slam at UFC Vegas 105 to outpoint Josh Emmett and remain undefeated.
The 33-year-old Mancunian now boasts a perfect 16-0 record with one draw and wants to fight for the UFC featherweight title very soon.
Murphy was cautious of Emmett’s one-punch knockout power as their five-round main event bout at UFC Apex got underway.
He remained on the outside, using his reach advantage to pick at the American, who had knocked out Bryce Mitchell in less than two minutes during his last fight.
At one point in the second round, Emmett had ‘The Miracle’ pinned up against the cage.
With nowhere else to go, he lifted Murphy with both hands above his head before driving him with full force straight into the canvas.
“That was insane!” British UFC legend Michael Bisping said as Emmett pounced on Murphy in an attempt to finish him on the ground.
However, the Manchester man recovered well, and his striking remained solid as the clock ticked on and we entered the championship rounds.
Although Emmett completed four of his 11 takedowns, with over three minutes of control time, Murphy landed over 100 more strikes to earn a convincing unanimous decision win.
Two judges awarded the contest 48-47 in his favour, while a third scored it a more convincing 49-46.
Ahead of his main event clash, Murphy told talkSPORT.com that he was eyeing up a title shot, and his stance, unsurprisingly, didn’t change after beating Emmett.
“I want a title,” Murphy said when asked by Bisping in his post-fight interview what he wanted next.
“But give me anybody in that top five, top three, even give me one of them guys and I’ll fight them in July.
“Let’s go. I want to keep this train going. I want to get to the championship, stay active, another two fights this year.”
Murphy proceeded to name No.6 ranked featherweight Brian Ortega as a potential next opponent, as he has now moved into the top eight among the 145-pound UFC fighters.
The UFC featherweight title was vacated by Ilia Topuria in February, with No.1 ranked Alexander Volkanovski fighting No.3 ranked Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314 for the strap this weekend.
Murphy told talkSPORT that he would prefer to face Volkanovski for the title due to his ‘name value’, and is backing him to win on the Miami card that also features Paddy Pimblett‘s co-main event with Michael Chandler.
‘The Miracle’ has never tasted defeated in MMA, but his extraordinary talents have gone largely unnoticed by the more casual UFC fanbase.
He has gained nowhere near the traction that names like fellow British UFC stars Tom Aspinall and Pimblett have gained in the last five years.
Although Murphy is rubbing shoulders with the best fighters on the planet, he’s not sure why he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
“You tell me. I’d love to know,” he said. “Obviously, I think one of the aspects is I’m not a big talker. I’m quiet. I’m quite reserved. I get in there, do my job and that’s it.
“I’m not big on social media and whatnot. Obviously, that has a big part to play in it.
“But I don’t know…all I know is if some of the fighters had the record I had and beat the names I beat, the whole country would be behind them in it.”
