Edson ‘Junior’ Barboza is set to make his fifth UFC main event appearance, as he takes on Lerone Murphy on May 18th.
Edson Barboza‘s last fight came against Sodiq Yusuff in October last year, and after a bad first round, the veteran rallied from behind to win the fight via decision.
Lerone Murphy, who is currently ranked 14th, has had some extremely bad luck as of late, having only fought twice since 2021. His last fight came against Joshua Culibao back in July last year, where he narrowly edged a decision win.
The Brit was then scheduled to take on Dan Ige in a co-main event in February, but due to another injury, he had to withdraw from the fight.
This will mark Murphy’s main event appearance, with him having only competed on the main card twice during his five-year UFC tenure.
The featherweight fight announcement was initially reported by MMA Journalist, Laerte Viana, following a tweet by the undefeated Brit yesterday stating, “We have a date”.
Murphy’s wish is granted as he finally gets Barboza
The Mancunian called for a fight against someone in the top 10 following his win in July, and although Edson Barboza is currently ranked 11, it’s a fight that he has admittedly been interested in because it gets him closer to the top of the division.
The 38-year-old Brazilian picked up yet another Fight of the Night bonus in his last outing and with that, he broke the record for the most amount of Fight of the Night bonuses with 10.
Despite Barboza having never held UFC gold or never having competed for UFC gold, he has been a permanent fixture of the 145lb rankings, and his exciting style has made him a fan favorite for over 13 years.
Tale of the tape
Barboza (24-11) has won two of his last three fights, with his last loss coming against Bryce Mitchell back at UFC 272 in 2022. The talented striker is one of the only fighters to have scored multiple finishes via leg kicks, and he boasts 15 career finishes.
The 32-year-old Murphy (13-0-1) is on an upward trajectory, despite the multiple career injuries, with him hoping this will be the turning point in his career. His lone draw came against Zubaira Tukhugov in his UFC debut in 2019, a draw which was disputed at the time.
The Brazilian will hold a 1.5-inch reach advantage in the fight and only made his move down to featherweight back in 2020, following back-to-back losses.