Josh Emmett to be tested by unbeaten Lerone Murphy in return from layoff

April is chock full of top-tier featherweight action and it begins this weekend with Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy serving as a Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The pair of top-10 contenders in the 145-pound division are set for a five-round clash Saturday, and the winner will move closer to the top of the division, which will crown a new champion next weekend at UFC 314.

Reigning featherweight champion Ilia Topuria vacated the belt after deciding to move up to the lightweight division, so the UFC pegged former champ Alex Volkanovski and the streaking Diego Lopes to compete for the vacant title.

Emmett is 10-4 in his UFC career and knows what it’s like being in the cage with the top talent the weight class has to offer. The power puncher’s only two losses in the past seven years were when he came up short in an interim title matchup with Yair Rodriguez and then lost a five-round unanimous decision to Topuria in which he displayed heart and durability.

Fight fans haven’t seen Emmett compete since his devastating knockout win over Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296 in December of 2023. Without exaggeration, it’s one of the most brutal UFC knockouts from the past few years.

Emmett has since turned 40 but is still ranked as the UFC’s No. 8 featherweight contender, while Murphy sits at No. 10 and is undefeated as a pro at 15-0-1.

Murphy only has one minor blemish on his record – a 2019 split draw with Zubaira Tukhugov in Murphy’s UFC debut – and is entering his matchup with Emmett coming off his two best wins to date.

The 33-year-old from England went 2-0 in 2024 with a five-round Fight of the Night decision win over Edson Barboza in May and a three-round unanimous decision over Dan Ige in October.

UNDERCARD OVERVIEW

Featherweight co-main: The penultimate bout of the card will also see two talented 145-pounders go head-to-head when Brazil’s Joanderson Brito faces American Pat Sabatini. Brito holds a notable technical decision victory over Diego Lopes from their 2021 Contender Series meeting, while Sabatini is a credentialled grappler with a 6-2 record in the UFC. Brito is coming off a close split decision loss in his last outing, but he’s a fighter perpetually on the verge of the featherweight rankings.

Can Meerschaert add to his MW record? Veteran 185-pounders Brad Tavares and Gerald Meerschaert are set to clash on the main card, with both looking to get back into the win column. Tavares, 37, has lost four of his past five, while Meerschaert is coming off a submission loss to Reinier de Ridder in November. Meerschaert, also 37, holds the UFC middleweight record for most stoppage wins with 12. Tavares is 20-10 in the UFC and has been finished by KO/TKO in half of his losses. All but one of Meerschaert’s UFC stoppage wins have been via submission; Tavares has never been submitted in his pro career.

Plenty of DWCS talent on display: Of the 26 athletes set to compete at the Apex on Saturday, half got their start in the UFC after first appearing on Dana White’s Contender Series. Some are more established, like Brito and heavyweight opponents Kennedy Nzechukwu and Martin Buday, while others are fresher, such as 10-0 Torrez Finney, who faces TUF 32 middleweight finalist Robert Valentin and Daniel Frunza, who’ll take on Rhys McKee at welterweight.

The projected bout order for UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Murphy is below.

MAIN CARD

— Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy

— Pat Sabatini vs. Joanderson Brito

— Cortavious Romious vs. Lee Chang-ho

— Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Martin Buday

— Brad Tavares vs. Gerald Meerschaert

— Torrez Finney vs. Robert Valentin

PRELIMINARY CARD

— Ode’ Osbourne vs. Luis Gurule

— Davey Grant vs. Daniel Santos

— Diana Belbita vs. Dione Barbosa

— Rhys McKee vs. Daniel Frunza

— Loma Lookboonmee vs. Istela Nunes

— Victor Henry vs. Pedro Falcao

— Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Talita Alencar

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