Lerone
Murphy is on the cusp of stardom and could find himself ranked
in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship‘s featherweight division after
dismantling the always-dangerous Edson
Barboza on Saturday at the UFC Apex. Murphy dominated one of
the the promotion’s all-time best strikers from bell to bell en
route to a unanimous decision win (49-46, 50-45, 50-45) over the
38-year-old Brazillian in the
UFC Fight Night 241 main event.
Murphy (14-0-1) peppered Barboza with the jab and outstruck him
despite eating bone-crunching leg kicks. He had Barboza staggered
multiple times throughout the fight but cautiously stuck to the
game plan and punished his foe in the clinch when the moment
presented itself. Barboza never stopped looking for a knockout but
Murphy refused to give him an opening. The
Manchester Top Team product’s lateral movement and piston-like
jab had Barboza eating leather all evening. With the win, Murphy
picked up the biggest victory of his career and could see himself
matched with a Top 10 featherweight in his next outing. Barboza’s
(24-12) 30th UFC appearance saw his two-fight win streak
snapped.
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Kalinn
Williams once again lived up to his ominous nickname of “Khaos”
after dispatching Carlston
Harris in the first round (1:30) of their welterweight tilt.
Williams, a Detroit native, cracked Harris with a right hand that
would make Tommy Hearns smile from ear to ear. Williams (15-3) has
won two straight since his disputed loss to Randy
Brown. With nine knockouts on his ledger, he’s quickly becoming
one of the most explosive welterweights on the roster. The loss
snapped Harris’ (19-6) modest two-fight win streak.
Themba
Gorimbo wasn’t happy with his performance but it was more than
enough to take a clear unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
over Ramiz
Brahimaj in welterweight action. Gorimbo (13-4) picked up his
third straight win after controlling Brahimaj throughout the
15-minute scrap. The fight didn’t live up to the hype of Gorimbo’s
first-round TKO over Pete
Rodriguez, but it did show his versatility on the mat.
Adrian
Yanez reminded everyone why he’s still one of the most
explosive bantamweights in the UFC with a first-round TKO over
Vinicius
Salvador (2:47). After suffering back-to-back stoppage losses,
the hype had cooled on the heavy-handed Texan, but Salvador was a
made to order opponent that quickly discovered he lacked the
firepower to stand in the pocket. Realizing he was likely to go out
on his shield, Salvador opened up with Yanez until he was put down
by a wicked right hand. Yanez (17-5) closed the show with a cluster
of shots that forced Chris Togononi to call the bout.
Strawweight staple Angela Hill
has never submitted an opponent throughout her 30-fight career …
until Saturday. The 39-year-old continued to push back the clock
and surge her way up the standings after submitting Luana
Pinheiro in the second round. After outstriking Pinheiro
throughout the first period, Hill set up her fight-ending
guillotine in the second after stuffing Pinheiro’s failed takedown.
Hill pulled guard and locked in a tight squeeze at the 4:12 mark of
Round 2 to secure the win.
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