Lerone Murphy may set a date for the title fight with Alexander Volkanovski.
The UFC featherweight champion took to social media to congratulate Murphy on Saturday on a big victory at the UFC 319 Co-Main event. Murphy welcomed former Bellator star Aaron Pico to the Octagon with a stunning first-round spinback elbow knockout.
It was the ninth straight win for undefeated Murphy in 18 professional matches (including one draw), and he used the time of the post-war microphone to call out shots in the belt of Volkanovski.
Volkanovski responded kindly, writing, “See you in December.”
Although the December UFC pay-per-view has not yet been announced, Murphy is playing against Volkanovski in the traditional end-of-year show.
“December is perfect for me,” Murphy told UFC 319’s postwar press conference. “Give it time to recharge, spend time with family, work on a few bits, get better and get back better. December is perfect to share with Volkanovsky, one of the featherweight goats.
Murphy has yet to receive the title shot despite his meticulous UFC record, which has acquired ranked fighters Josh Emmett, Dan Ige and Edson Barboza. One of the challenges Murphy faces is his lack of finishing as he has kept his distance in the past five fights.
He didn’t head to UFC 319, trying to change his style so that he could knock out Pico, but he’s happy with how the fight unfolded.
“You have to fight differently than everyone else,” Murphy said. “You can’t stand there and do business with Josh Emmett. That’s not clever. We’ve seen what he does to those who do it, so to get knocked out on them anyway, I’ll close the asshole to them.
Another challenge Murphy had to deal with was his disgust to avoid trash talk and exaggeration. Murphy is not known for his meme-worthy promotions. That’s fine for him, as I believe his in-cage performance will come first above all else.
“I let the fight talk,” Murphy said. “I’ll let the elbow talk. The champions call me because they know I should be in line next. I deserve it more than anyone else. No one won five in the top 15.
Murphy and his fellow countryman Paddy Pinblett were both able to fight for gold right away, and Pinblett campaigned to face rivals and lightweight champion Ilia Topria. If the stars match Murphy and Pinblett, “Miracle” is excited by the suggestion that their title fight could take place on the same card.
“Wow, that’s crazy,” Murphy said. “I’ve never heard of it yet, but I think it’s the best card ever. Let’s do that. Let’s do it. Let’s do it Volkanovski vs. Lerone Murphy, Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett. We’ll blow the roof off.”