A featherweight clash pitting Edson
Barboza against Lerone
Murphy will serve as the headliner for a UFC
Fight Night event on May 18.
Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial
report from MMA journalist Laerte Viana. The
card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and
also includes a flyweight showdown between Tim Elliott
and Tatsuro
Taira.
Barboza is 4-3 in UFC competition since moving to 145 pounds from
the lightweight division. The 38-year-old Brazilian is coming off a
2-0 campaign in 2023 in which he defeated Billy
Quarantillo via first-round knockout at UFC on ESPN 44 and
outpointed Sodiq
Yusuff over five rounds in the UFC Fight Night 230
headliner.
A native of Stockport, England, the 32-year-old Murphy has yet to
taste defeat in 14 professional outings. After battling Zubaira
Tukhugov to a split draw in his Octagon debut at UFC 242, “The
Miracle” has been victorious in his last five Octagon appearances.
Most recently, Murphy earned a unanimous decision triumph against
Joshua
Culibao at UFC Fight Night 224 this past July.