UFC Fight Night: Murphy remains unbeaten ahead of crucial week in featherweight division
A week before the vacant featherweight title goes up for grabs at UFC 314, Lerone Murphy continued to make his case for a spot in the title conversation at UFC Fight Night on Saturday.
A week before the vacant featherweight title goes up for grabs at UFC 314 in Miami, Lerone Murphy continued to make his case for a spot in the title conversation, registering his eighth straight victory to elevate his record to 16-0-1 overall by out-working Josh Emmett over five rounds.
The Manchester Top Team representative was smart with his movement and defensive responsibilities while keeping the American powerhouse off balance with his strikes for much of the fight. He varied his targets and attacks, constantly leaving Emmett frustrated and trying to find him to limited avail. This was a technical and intelligent effort against a dangerous powerhouse, and another critical win for the ascending Brit.
That’s now three straight wins over ranked opponents and eight straight overall, leaving him one back of Movsar Evloev for the longest active winning streak in the division. More importantly, it should carry Murphy into the Top 10 when the rankings update next week and create an opportunity for him to potentially garner a date with another talent stationed ahead of him in the rankings next time out.
With six featherweight matchups on the schedule next week, Murphy can sit back, savour this win, and watch the action from South Beach closely, seeing how things play out before trying to chart a course forward in the second half of the year.
DOMINANT SHOWING FROM SABATINI
Just a couple weeks after his teammate Sean Brady routed Leon Edwards in London, Pat Sabatini turned in an emphatic performance of his own, racking up nearly 14 minutes of ground control time in his one-sided win over Joanderson Brito.
This wasn’t a situation where the Philadelphia native was simply burning time off the clock from top position — he was advancing positions, working to do damage, and constantly forcing Brito to be mindful of his defences. It was a thoroughly lopsided performance where Sabatini showed his class on the canvas, securing his second straight victory in the process.
With a ton of action taking place in the division this week and next, an effort like this is a great way for the former CFFC champ and standout grappler to make his case for a matchup with a Top 15 fighter next time out. Featherweight is under construction at the moment and the rankings are likely to undergo major renovations over the course of the year, and if Sabatini can build on his tidy two-fight winning streak in the next couple months, he’ll had a strong case for having a number next to his name somewhere down the line.
A SUSPECT SPLIT DECISION
Torrez Finney dominated Robert Valentin for the first two rounds of their main card opener before his gas tank rank dry and the recent TUF finalist was able to land some effective offence in the third. When the final horn sounded, it seemed clear that Finney would garner a victory, with scores of 29-28 across the board.
Two of the three officials scored the bout that way, but veteran Tony Weeks took another approach, awarding Valentin all three rounds, resulting in the most dubious split decision in recent memory.
No one is going to argue that Finney was exciting or even active with his strikes, as he registered a total four significant strikes over the course of the fight, but each of the first two rounds were grappling-heavy, and he was clearly effective. Threatening? No, as he was content to grind from top position and make Valentin try to work free, which he did, only to get dumped on the canvas again.
While judges certainly need to prioritize damage over control and reward immediately impactful strikes above cumulative blows, you still have to reward the grappling effort put forth by Finney when the majority of the round is spent on the floor.
All that being said, Finney needed three attempts to convince UFC CEO Dana White to give him a contract, and this fight was reminiscent of the two efforts that left him without a contract before finally getting there on his third attempt. Winning is always important, but Finney is going to need to show more as he tries to make headway in the deepening middleweight division.
‘SKELETOR’ FINALLY SCORES A VICTORY
The fifth time was the charm for Rhys McKee, as the former Cage Warriors champion finally collected his first UFC victory on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Paired off with recent Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Daniel Frunza, McKee came out of the gates sharp and firing, stinging the newcomer several times in the first two minutes of the round and putting him on the deck three different times. Though Frunza was able to gather his wits and have some success in the back half of the round, McKee stayed on him and continued to bust him up, leaving Frunza a bloody mess as he headed back to the corner at the end of the round.
While it seemed like his swollen right eye could have been the cause of a stoppage, it was instead the axe wound that bisected his upper lip was the culprit and brought the fight to a halt.
McKee made his debut on short-notice on Fight Island during the pandemic, called in to face Khamzat Chimaev when the undefeated middleweight contender wanted to hustle right back into action. A loss to Alex Morono followed and brought his first stint in the promotion to an end, and decision losses to Ange Loosa and Chidi Njokuani following an excellent four-fight run under the Cage Warriors banner left him at 0-4 inside the Octagon heading into this one.
He’s always been a tough out and has been through some battles both inside and outside of the Octagon, but this was clearly the best “Skeletor” had looked across his two tours of duty in the UFC. It will be interesting to see if he’s able to parlay this breakthrough performance into sustained momentum, but that’s a question for another day.
For tonight, it’s about the moment, and the fact that McKee can finally say he’s earned a victory on the biggest stage in the sport.
ODDS & ENDS
ChangHo Lee looked dominant in registering a second-round stoppage win over Cortavious Romious midway through the main card. The South Korean, who won the bantamweight tournament on the second season of Road to UFC, took advantage of tactical mistakes by Romious, using them to advance to dominant positions and do damage, pounding out the finish with elbows from mount to move to 11-1 overall.
With his win on Saturday, Brad Tavares moved into a tie with Michael Bisping for the most wins in UFC middleweight division history. The Hawaiian is one of the longest tenured fighters on the roster and continues to be a stalwart in the “Second 15” at ’85, serving as a veteran litmus test for ascending hopefuls and a capable hand every time his name is called.
Flyweight fixture Ode’ Osbourne snapped a three-fight slide, spoiling the UFC debut of Colorado native Luis Gurule. “The Jamaican Sensation” connected with a rocket-launched left hand that send Gurule to the canvas, where the finish soon followed. While the results haven’t always been there, Osbourne remains one of those essential veterans in the 125-pound weight class, and the kind of experienced talent every division needs.
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Dione Barbosa made relatively quick work of Diana Belbita to close out the prelims, submitting the Stoney Creek, Ontario-based veteran in the first round. It was academic once the Brazilian brought the fight to the ground, and unfortunately dropped Belbita to just 2-6 inside the Octagon.
If you’ve read my work in the past, you know I love a good veteran that can serve as a tough out in the middle of a packed division, and Victor Henry further cemented his standing as such in the bantamweight ranks on Saturday. The 37-year-old swept the scorecards against Pedro Falcao, showing a little bit of everything while collecting his fourth win in seven starts inside the Octagon.
Martin Buday moved to 6-1 inside the Octagon with a unanimous decision win on Saturday’s prelims, but it was the effort of his opponent, Uran Satybaldiev that stood out. The former LFA standout, who took the fight on Thursday morning, wobbled Buday in the third round, and is someone to keep an eye on once he makes the drop to light heavyweight.
