UFC 319's Lerone Murphy: 'It's time for a title fight' vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC) took a short-notice fight against debutant Aaron Pico in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC 319 and delivered one of the best and most vicious knockouts of 2025. Murphy slept Pico (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a spinning elbow that immediately put his lights out. The finish caught the attention of many, including the UFC featherweight champion himself, Alexander Volkanovski, who wrote on X, "See you in December(Lerone Murphy), congrats."
Murphy thinks his unbeaten record, lengthy UFC win streak, and vicious finish over Pico should be more than enough to get him his long-awaited shot. December sounds good to him.
"December would be perfect for me," Murphy said at the UFC 319 post-fight press conference. "It gives me time to recharge, spend some time with the family, and work on some bits and get better and come back better. December would be great to share the octagon with Volkanovski, one of the featherweight GOATS. I added another scalp to my already quality resume. I'm nine fights undefeated now. I have 10 fights in the UFC now: One draw and nine wins. It's time for a title fight."
Prior to UFC 319, Murphy was relatively one of the less talked about, less noticed contenders at 145 pounds. Some fans have criticized his fighting style, and lack of excitement. Murphy, who was coming off five decision wins prior to UFC 319, is glad he proved that he's got stopping power and potential to make some highlight finishes.
"You have to fight everybody differently," Murphy said. "You can't stand and trade with Josh Emmett. It's just not smart. We've seen what he does to guys who do that. So to get a knockout now, I'm shutting those haters up. I know I can do that. I know what I've got in the bag. I know the best version of me has not been show yet, and I will show it in December."
For Murphy, the knockout over Pico is now one of his best career moments. He's thrilled with his work at UFC 319.
"That was great. That was one of the best moments of my career, if not the best moment," Murphy said. "Co-main event, vicious KO over a quality opponent – I couldn't be much happier."
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