Lerone Murphy on Movsar Evloev bout: 'Winner goes on to be champion'
· Yahoo Sports
Lerone Murphy is days away from entering a historic matchup against Movsar Evloev in the main event of UFC Fight Night 270.
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The featherweight matchup between Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC) and Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is an unofficial title eliminator, which brings a bit of history to the table. The O2 Arena in London will host the fight featuring the most combined wins without a loss in UFC history (36), surpassing Ian Machado Garry vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (33).
"Wow, that's crazy," Murphy told MMA Junkie. "That's crazy, a record. So, I'll have to bring that one up as well. I'm proud. ... I think this fight should have been for the title, really, but it's a massive fight, and I think the winner goes on to be champion for sure."
Alexander Volkanovski currently holds the title and, after his recent rematch win over Diego Lopes, stated that he owes it to the division to give the next shot to the most deserving contender. It was a message that resonated with everyone in the division, including Murphy, as the UFC doesn't always reward title opportunities on merit.
"How can't you respect that?" Murphy said. "I respect that massively. Everyone respects Volkanovski. He's a realist, and he's one of the best ever to do it at featherweight. So, for him to come out and say that, I believe that's how the sport should be, and he's a good pioneer for the sport."
Murphy won't allow his mind to get too far ahead of what's in front of him, though. He knows he's in for a massive task against Evloev, who oddsmakers have set as the favorite to win the fight Saturday. However, if "The Miracle" pulls off the upset, he knows he wants to be back in action within a few months' time, ideally, after having picked up another main event win that gets him a title shot.
"I'm not looking past this Saturday," Murphy said. "I'm looking to give everything this Saturday, so I don't know when I'll be back in there. But what I would say is regardless of the result, I want to fight active, I want to be active. After the Pico fight, I was screaming for a fight. I thought I was going to fight in December. I've been sat out for like six, seven months. So, really and truly, at 34, you don't really want to be taking them breaks, especially if you're healthy. For me, I just want to be active. So, I want to try to get back in there regardless, end of summer."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Lerone Murphy sees winner of UFC London headliner as future champion