Alexander Volkanovski vs. Lerone Murphy in 2026 is much from a finished deal.
Since profitable the featherweight title a second time at UFC 314, Volkanovski has patiently waited for his division’s contender line to type itself out. The undefeated Movsar Evloev is in limbo, knockout artist Jean Silva was simply crushed by Diego Lopes (who Volkanovski simply confronted for a vacant belt 5 months in the past), and extremely touted ex-Bellator signing Aaron Pico fell flat in his debut by the hands of Murphy.
“It’s arduous, I believed that’s what it was going to be, however there may be a spanner within the works,” Volkanovski instructed Submission Radio.
Volkanovski added that he may need to attend till February to combat once more, with the UFC presumably heading to his native Australia.
“February in Sydney, is it February?” Volkanovski stated.
Murphy was fast to reply to Volkanovski’s feedback on social media, saying he nonetheless expects to be Volkanovski’s opponent even when the date adjustments.
“He didn’t say no to me,” Murphy stated. “I believe he’s referring to the date. I might be prepared at any time when. Let’s wait and see!”
Murphy issued two fast responses to the Volkanovski information, however shortly deleted his tweets.
Murphy is but to lose in 18 professional bouts, together with a 9-0-1 mark within the UFC. He has gained 9 straight fights since going to a cut up attract his debut in opposition to Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 242. His previous 4 wins have all come in opposition to ranked competitors, with choices over Edson Barboza, Dan Ige, and Josh Emmett capped off by a first-round knockout of Pico this previous August.
Volkanovski is at the moment in his second reign as UFC featherweight champion. He efficiently defended that title 5 consecutive occasions earlier than dropping it to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, however after Topuria vacated the title to maneuver as much as 155 kilos, Volkanovski went on to reclaim it by profitable a five-round determination over Lopes this previous April.
