Fresh off the biggest win of his career, Lerone
Murphy wants to stay active and carry that momentum
forward.
Britain’s Murphy (14-0) outdueled perennial contender Edson
Barboza (24-12) in his first UFC headliner at UFC Fight Night
241. With the promotion set to return to Manchester, England, in
July after nearly eight years away, an offer for the undefeated
featherweight to headline a card just months prior came as bit of a
surprise. Murphy revealed that while he was aware of the
UFC 304, card for some time, a main event opportunity against a
veteran like Barboza was too good to ignore. “The Iceman” made an
appearance on “The MMA Hour” on Wednesday, where he described
his thought process going into the fight.
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“The opportunity they gave me, Edson
Barboza, main event, five rounds, how can I say no,” Murphy
explained. “I can’t say no to that. That’s a massive opportunity
and a massive spotlight. So, for me it was like, yeah, they’re
coming to Manchester but this is a bigger opportunity. I’ll take
this opportunity and maybe if I’m healthy I’ll still fight in
Manchester, but the opportunity was too big to pass up on.”
Other than taking a flush upkick to the face at the end of Round 1,
Murphy apparently did not sustain a great deal of damage against
the Brazilian striker. Given his nose isn’t broken, the Stockport,
Greater Manchester, native would like a quick turnaround at UFC
304, which goes down on July 27 at the Co-op Live arena in his home
area of Manchester.
“For me, if the nose isn’t broken, I’m looking to fight,” the Brit
said. “Because I feel good, I know the bruising, all the swelling
will be gone down in a week. And they’re not gonna put me in main
event obviously, so it’ll be a three-rounder. I’m already fit, two
weeks of training, I’m not gonna lose anything there. So, I’ll be
able to get right back into camp, but we’ll see, I’m not rushing
anything. I’ll see how the body is and if it’s a go, it’s a
go.”
Having reached the no. 15 spot on
Sherdog’s Official Rankings at featherweight with his latest
win, Murphy is now eyeing 11th-ranked Calvin
Kattar or Josh Emmett
at eight next.
“Looking at the rankings now, I feel like the [Calvin] Kattar fight
and the [Josh] Emmett fight will be amazing fights. They’ll be good
matchups for me to go out there and put another show on. I just
want big fights now. My confidence is high and I just want big
fights, anybody in the top 10 I’m ready for now. I just wanna keep
fighting and keep the momentum going,” Murphy concluded.