Lerone Murphy has his eyes set on Alexander Volkanovski after his massive UFC 319 win and foresees a featherweight title bid before 2025 wraps up. Murphy is on the heels of a viral knockout against highly hyped UFC debutant Aaron Pico in Chicago on UFC's recent pay-per-view offering and seems hotter than ever with the kingpin of his weight category, Volkanovski, seeing him as the next up for a title fight.
The surging 145 pound contender specifically mentioned December as a month that seemed to align with what Volk was eyeing for his next fight date and Murphy seems game per a recent interview he did. This chat took place with Michael Bisping on the former UFC middleweight champion's YouTube channel as Murphy said,
“Volk wants to fight in December. So, I think it’s going to be Las Vegas December. I’m waiting for a call anytime now, next few weeks to get it set in stone and then I’ll start my training camp.”
Lerone Murphy and his studying approach for Alexander Volkanovski bout
While Lerone Murphy has at times drawn the ire of certain MMA fans for a perceived lack of finishing ability, it seems like the British fighter has re-ignited a killer instinct with himself after the Aaron Pico finish a few weeks ago. Coming off a somewhat inauspicious, conservative performance against the heavy handed Josh Emmett in April, this co-main event win over the former Bellator MMA prospect was the exact kind of jolt that Murphy needed at this point.
In discussing that recent mindset shift on the aforementioned Believe You Me Podcast instalment, and how that informs a potential featherweight title bid against
“I’m a technician, I watch a lot of tape on guys so I understand the flaws and I’m already seeing holes in Volkanovski’s game and I’m gonna exploit them.”