Tag: Lerone Murphy

Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy targeted to headline UFC card on May 18

Edson Barboza will test Lerone Murphy’s unbeaten record in a UFC Fight Night main event on May 18.

The second-quarter UFC schedule continues to fill out with main events with the addition of [autotag]Edson Barboza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night on May 18.

Ranked featherweights will clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when Barboza (24-11 MMA, 18-11 UFC) takes on Murphy (13-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC) in a matchup scheduled for five rounds.

Two people with knowledge of the booking verified the news to MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA journalist Laerte Viana. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Barboza, an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, will make his 30th walk to the octagon at the event. The Brazilian is one of the most decorated fighters in company history to never compete for a title, and has put on a plethora of memorable bouts. Barboza, 38, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Sodiq Yusuff at UFC Fight Night 230 in October, and he received his UFC record 10th Fight of the Night bonus in that performance.

He will next be tasked with the undefeated No. 13-ranked Murphy, who gets a big step up in competition. Murphy, 32, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Joshua Culibao at UFC Fight Night 224 in July.

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Lerone Murphy injured, Dan Ige left without opponent for UFC Fight Night 236

Dan Ige is searching for a new opponent after an injury to Lerone Murphy has scrapped their bout at UFC Fight Night 236 in February.

UFC Fight Night 236 has lost a fun featherweight matchup.

[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] was set to take on [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Feb. 10, but an undisclosed injury has prompted his withdrawal from the fight. MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a source following a first report from Violent Money TV.

Ige (17-7 MMA, 9-6 UFC) and Murphy (13-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC), who are ranked No. 14 and No. 15 respectively on the current USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, publicly exchanged well wishes on social media.

While the undefeated Murphy is on the mend, Ige hopes he will be able to keep the same fight date in February against a new opponent, as his wife is expected to give birth in March.

Ige posted a video to Instagram Stories asking a simple question: “Who’s it gonna be?”

The 32-year-old featherweight is looking to return to the win column following a unanimous decision loss to Bryce Mitchell in September. That setback followed back-to-back wins over Damon Jackson and Nate Landwehr earlier in 2023.

Following two appearances last calendar year that included decision wins over Gabriel Santos and Josh Culibao, Murphy will have to wait a little longer to get his 2024 started.

The lineup for UFC 236 includes:

  • Jack Hermansson vs. Joe Pyfer
  • Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares
  • Darrius Flowers vs. Michael Johnson
  • Dan Ige vs. opponent TBA
  • Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Trevin Giles vs. Carlos Prates
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Loma Lookboonmee
  • Bogdan Guskov vs. Zac Pauga
  • Devin Clark vs. Marcin Prachnio
  • Max Griffin vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Damir Hadzovic vs. Bolaji Oki
  • Aori Qileng vs. Daniel Marcos
  • Hyder Amil vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Dec. 4-10)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Dec. 4-10.

Dan Ige draws unbeaten Lerone Murphy at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 10

Ranked UFC featherweights Dan Ige and Lerone Murphy will thrown down in February.

Ranked featherweights will thrown down in February as [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night event Feb. 10 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The event is expected to stream on ESPN+. Both fighters confirmed the news on social media after an initial report from ESPN.

Ige (17-7 MMA, 9-6 UFC) will look to rebound from his unanimous decision loss to Bryce Mitchell in September. Prior to that, the Xtreme Couture fighter scored two straight wins – a Performance of the Night knockout of Damon Jackson followed by a win over Nate Landwehr at UFC 289.

Since battling Zubaira Tukhugov to a split draw in his UFC debut on short notice, unbeaten Murphy (13-0-1, 5-0-1 UFC) has won five in a row. The 32-year-old is coming off a decision win over Joshua Culibao this past July in London.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 10 includes:

  • Jack Hermansson vs. Joe Pyfer
  • Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Max Griffin vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Trevin Giles vs. Carlos Prates
  • Hyder Amil vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
  • Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares
  • Darrius Flowers vs. Michael Johnson
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Loma Lookboonmee
  • Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy

After UFC London win, Lerone Murphy hopes to be known by MMA fans for his fighting, not trash talk

Despite being undefeated with another win at UFC Fight Night 224 in London, Lerone Murphy thinks he’s not getting the credit he deserves.

LONDON – Despite being undefeated with five wins in the UFC, [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] doesn’t feel like he’s getting the credit he deserves.

The English featherweight picked up his fifth win in the octagon Saturday when he beat Josh Culibao (11-2-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) with a unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 224 in London. Murphy (13-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC) thinks his career is on a good track, but his popularity has yet to match it.

“It’s just that I’m not a big talker, isn’t it?” Murphy told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 224 post-fight press conference. “If you’re a big talker out here, you get noticed. I’m trying to do it with my fighting and my skills, but I need to be finishing fights, really.

“It is what it is. I’m competing at the top level in the world. I just got 13-0, six fights in the UFC, six fights at the top level, still undefeated and heading to the top.”

Murphy has won five consecutive fights since a draw with Zubaira Tukhugov in his UFC debut. His six fights have been in the U.K. or in Abu Dhabi. The 32-year-old is hoping his next fight is in the U.S. since he has yet to show his skills in front of the American audience.

“For sure, I want to travel the world with this,” Murphy said. “It’s a short career. I love fighting, I love traveling, so why not blend them together? I would love to fight all over the world. I have not done the States yet, so end of the year in the States, that would be perfect for me – get some different experience and put my name out there in the States. Go take over the States – I would love that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 post-event facts: Multiple perfect records ruined in London

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 224, which saw several fighters suffer their first career or octagon defeat.

The UFC made its 15th stop in London on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which went down at The O2. It was the longest event of the year so far.

Many of the 15 fights on the docket went to decisions, but one man who didn’t need the judges was [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who effortlessly ran through [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag] (24-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) for a first-round TKO in his return from a lengthy injury layoff.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Four fighters take home $16,000

UFC Fight Night 224 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LONDON – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $225,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 224 took place at the The 02. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 224 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jonny Parsons[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mick Parkin[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chris Duncan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yanal Ashmoz[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Bruna Brasil[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shauna Bannon[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jafel Filho[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Barez[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2241 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,780,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $19,369,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Lerone Murphy def. Josh Culibao at UFC Fight Night 224: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Lerone Murphy’s unanimous decision win over Josh Culibao at UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 224 at The O2 in London. (Photos by Per Haljestam, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC London: Lerone Murphy says Nathaniel Wood playing the victim after he got called out

Until they fight, it seems like Lerone Murphy is going to hear a lot about Nathaniel Wood after their fight week hotel run-in.

LONDON – Just like Nathaniel Wood, [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] has another job to do first. But until they fight, it seems like Wood and Murphy might be mentioned together for a while.

The two had a hotel run-in earlier this week. They were supposed to fight in March, but Wood had to pull out with a freak injury. Then he said something that apparently got under Murphy’s skin, and the two have had a healthy back-and-forth on social media – plus the run-in.

Now they’re on the same show at UFC Fight Night 224 in London and don’t even get to fight each other.

“I don’t think it was a heated debate. It’s just a conversation,” Murphy said at Thursday’s media day in London. “We had back-and-forth on the internet and I think it was important to bring that to reality and speak about it face to face like men. Everyone’s saying there’s some beef – nothing. If it was a beef, something would have happened there and then. It’s just a disagreement, really.

But when told Wood said Murphy’s side of the online exchanges could be worthy of legal involvement, Murphy may have changed his mind about not having beef.

“What? Oh my God. This is what I’m saying: He’s playing the victim,” Murphy said. “He wants to call me out. I was only responding to everything he said. I know what he’s going to say. It’s about the mental health thing or something. … (He said) I’m mentally weak because I don’t like to get in ice baths. And I’m like, ‘Don’t you take medication for your mental health? How can I be mentally weak? You can’t call people mentally weak.’ That’s all I said, so you can’t be calling out lawyers and all that. I thought he was supposed to be a fighter.”

Like Wood, Murphy said if a fight with Wood lines up in the future, he’s glad to take it.

“If we both keep winning and it makes sense, yeah, of course – I’d love to beat him up.”

Before that can happen, Murphy (12-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) has to take on Josh Culibao (11-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) on Saturday at The O2 in London. Their fight opens the main card on ESPN+. And Wood (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on Andre Fili (22-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in a featured featherweight bout on the main card just a few fights later.

Check out Murphy’s full UFC Fight Night 224 media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

‘You pulled out, bro’: Watch Lerone Murphy, Nathaniel Wood argue in UFC London hotel lobby

It appears UFC featherweights Lerone Murphy and Nathaniel Wood are yet to hash things out.

It appears UFC featherweights [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] and [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] are yet to hash things out.

Murphy (12-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) and Wood (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) were scheduled to meet at UFC 286 this past March, but a freak accident caused an injury that forced Wood to withdraw. Murphy faced newcomer Gabriel Santos instead, edging him out by split decision.

Both Murphy and Wood have been booked for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 card in London – but not against each other. That didn’t stop them from bickering when they had a run-in at the hotel lobby as Murphy explained to Wood why he wasn’t happy with him.

Looking to remain unbeaten in his professional MMA career, Murphy meets Josh Culibao (11-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) in the ESPN+ main card opener at The O2 in London.

Meanwhile, Wood takes on Andre Fili (22-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in the featured main card bout. “The Prospect” is 2-0 since moving up to 145 pounds, scoring back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Charles Rosa and Charles Jourdain.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.