Lerone Murphy

ANALYSIS
Priced as a hefty -275 favorite, Murphy had to work for this one. He ate a left hand from Ige early on which sent him crumbling to the mat. Remaining calm, Lerone found his way through the frame and slowly began to turn the tide with an excellent Round 2. Neither man accomplished much offensively in Round 3, but Murphy exploded with a final flurry with about 15 seconds left, and that was very likely enough to put him over the top. Currently sporting the longest unbeaten streak in the UFC featherweight division at eight (7-0-1), Murphy is closing in on title-implicating fights at 145 pounds.

ANALYSIS
The undefeated Englishman will look to keep his streak going after beating Edson Barboza via unanimous decision back in May. Murhpy has won six straight matches in the octagon, but he will take on a tough, veteran opponent in October. Ige (10-7) will be coming for vengeance against the still defeat-less Murphy, especially after a tough loss on four hours notice against Diego Lopes at UFC 303.

ANALYSIS
Easy work. Murphy entered as a -160 favorite, which in retrospect, was the steal of the century. His striking was on point, as he picked Barboza apart with his jab throughout the fight. He landed massive power shots when the opportunity presented itself and mixed in a couple takedowns for good measure. Lerone had landed north of 180 significant strikes through just 20 minutes, more than twice the amount Barboza connected with. Murphy is going to be 33 years of age in late-July and has just 15 professional fights under his belt, but he has an excellent all-around game, and his cardio more than held up in what was by far the biggest fight of his career. He may not be a true title contender at 145 pounds (yet), but he's pretty clearly a top-10 guy at this point, with the potential for more. In the meantime, he'll also walk away with a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts here.

ANALYSIS
Murphy will have another opportunity to climb the UFC's featherweight rankings, this time with a win over longtime veteran in Barboza, currently ranked three spots over the undefeated Englishman. Both featherweights went 2-0 during 2023. Murphy won his multiple fights via decision, while Barboza knocked out Billy Quarantillo and outlasted Sodiq Yusuff for five rounds.

ANALYSIS
Ige will instead face Andre Fili at the event. The specifics of Murphy's injury aren't known, so it's unclear when he'll return to the Octagon.