Alexander Volkanovski could have his pick of two undefeated prospects for his first title defense since reclaiming the UFC featherweight title.
After Ilia Topuria gave up the 145lb belt, Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes to scoop up the vacant title. Since then, he has been keen to return with a defense, and while he has two clear contenders for the belt, neither have cemented it yet.
Movsar Evloev is the ranked number one, but is unpopular with UFC brass and just pulled out of UFC 319 where he was due to face the debuting Aaron Pico. Instead, Lerone Murphy is putting his own unbeaten record on the line against the newcomer in hopes of landing in the top five.
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Lerone Murphy believes he must get shot at Alexander Volkanovski’s UFC title
After stepping in to save the day at UFC 319, Lerone Murphy is confident that he is owed a title shot should he get the victory. In fact, he believed his last win over Josh Emmett at the Apex might do enough, although it ended up being a relatively controversial night with limited action.
Now, Murphy will have a bit more leverage, particularly given what he has put on the line against one of the hottest prospects in the sport. “They have to,” Murphy told The Sun of a title shot ahead of the Emmett fight. “Who else has done what I’ve done in the division?
“Everybody else has had their shot, right? You see Yair [Rodriguez], I think he’s had two or three shots. Everybody else has fought for the title, everybody else has had their shot. I believe I’ll be 16-0-1 if I beat Josh Emmett. So yeah, I believe I deserve it.”
Alexander Volkanovski has wanted Movsar Evloev fight for months
Unfortunately for the Brit, Evloev may have found himself moving out of a contender fight and into a world title bout. In truth, he has beaten Lopes on a nine-fight win streak that includes Aljamain Sterling and Arnold Allen and is a fairly clear top challenger for Volkanovski.
“Right after the fight people were mentioning Yair Rodriguez. Obviously, all camp, before the fight, I’m talking about Movsar Evloev,” Volkanovski said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “He’s in a position where, if you look at who deserves it the most, being undefeated and who he’s fought.
“Obviously I’ve fought Yair. It’s weird because I like Yair. So, when he was calling for it, before the fight I wasn’t really expecting it. You had like, if people won, I’m sure he’ll call for shot.
“Maybe the UFC would maybe want to… Or Movsar. I thought they were pretty much the early options. I thought it would be pretty clear.”