Lerone Murphy may have just punched his ticket to a featherweight title shot.
The undefeated Brit announced himself on the biggest stage of his career at UFC 319, knocking out Aaron Pico with a devastating spinning-elbow at 3:21 of the first round.
The Chicago crowd erupted as Murphy extended his UFC record to nine wins, earning a $50k performance bonus and the attention of the division’s king, Alex Volkanovski.
Volkanovski took to social media immediately after the fight, where he laid out his plans to fight Murphy by the end of the year.
See you in December @LeroneMurphy congrats #ufc319
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) August 17, 2025
Volkanovski calls out Murphy for December showdown
Speaking on his YouTube channel after the fight, Volkanovski admitted that Murphy may have just cemented himself as the next man up.
“Who knows who I’ve got next, it could be Lerone Murphy,” he said.
“You get a guy, goes in and does an absolute massive knockout like that, on a big card, on a seven fight win-streak or maybe more… it’s a bit of a no-brainer.”
Murphy had to withstand early pressure from Pico, who landed heavy shots in his long-awaited UFC debut. But once Murphy found his timing, the finish came in spectacular fashion.
“Murphy had to weather a bit of a storm,” said Volkanovski.
“You couldn’t script it any better.
“For me, I’m waiting to see who it is, who do I think deserves it? I think Lerone Murphy.”
Volkanovski, who reclaimed his featherweight title at UFC 314 in April against Diego Lopes, has made it clear that he’s already thinking about his next defence. December, he says, could be the right time.
“December’s looking good… let’s see if we can make that happen,” he said.
“Lerone Murphy… you’ve made it pretty clear. Well done, see you soon.”
With Movsar Evloev sidelined and Aaron Pico’s hype stalled, Murphy’s spectacular finish may have been exactly what he needed to leapfrog the field.
