Lerone Murphy may need a date set for a title battle with Alexander Volkanovski.
The UFC featherweight champion took to social media to congratulate Murphy on his big win Saturday within the UFC 319 co-main occasion. Murphy welcomed former Bellator star Aaron Pico to the octagon with a shocking first-round spinning again elbow knockout.
It was the ninth straight win for Murphy, who’s undefeated in 18 professional bouts (together with one draw), and he used his post-fight microphone time to name for a shot at Volkanovski’s belt.
Volkanovski responded in type, writing, “See you in December.”
A December UFC pay-per-view is but to be introduced, however Murphy is all in on going through Volkanovski on the conventional year-end present.
“December can be good for me,” Murphy mentioned on the UFC 319 post-fight press convention. “Offers me time to recharge, spend a while with the household, after which work on some bits and get higher and are available again higher. December will likely be nice to share the octagon with Volkanovski, one of many featherweight GOATs. Including one other scalp to my already high quality résumé. … I’ve had 10 fights within the UFC now, one draw, 9 wins, it’s time for a title battle.”
Murphy is but to obtain a title shot regardless of his spotless UFC document, which incorporates wins over ranked fighters Josh Emmett, Dan Ige, and Edson Barboza. One problem Murphy faces is his lack of finishes as he had gone the gap in his previous 5 fights.
He didn’t head into UFC 319 trying to change his type so he may knock Pico out, however he’s happy with how the battle performed out.
“You must battle everyone in a different way,” Murphy mentioned. “You may’t stand there and commerce with Josh Emmett. It’s simply not good. We’ve seen what he does to guys that try this, so to get a knockout now, I’m shutting them haters up anyway. I do know I can try this, I do know what I’ve received within the bag, and I do know that one of the best model of me has not been proven but and I’ll present that in December.”
The opposite problem Murphy has needed to take care of is his aversion to keep away from trash discuss and hyperbole. Murphy isn’t identified for his meme-worthy promos, and that’s fantastic with him as he believes his in-cage efficiency takes precedence over the rest.
“I let my combating do the discuss,” Murphy mentioned. “I let my elbows do the speaking. The champ’s calling me out now as a result of he is aware of I must be subsequent in line. I deserve it greater than anyone else. No one’s had 5 wins within the prime 15, I’ve had two foremost occasion slots, and that was a terrific knockout, so I deserve it extra. Let’s go, Volk.”
Murphy and fellow countryman Paddy Pimblett may each be combating for gold quickly, with Pimblett campaigning to face rival and light-weight champion Ilia Topuria. Ought to the celebrities align for Murphy and Pimblett, “The Miracle” is thrilled on the suggestion that their title fights may happen on the identical card.
“Wow, that may be loopy,” Murphy mentioned. “I’ve not even heard that but, however I feel that may be one of the best card ever. Let’s try this, let’s do Volkanovski vs. Lerone Murphy and Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett and we’ll blow the roof off.”
