This year’s UFC London main event was almost certain to produce the next featherweight title challenger, as two unbeaten talents in Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy collided at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Saturday’s 145 pound showdown found Evloev looking to silence critics complaining about his lack of finishes, while Murphy hoped to building on a shocking stoppage of Aaron Pico.
The two got off to a slow start, feeling each other out at range, with Murphy offering a volume of feints toward his opponent in Movsar Evloev. Murphy landed the first combination of significance, connecting with a low kick followed by a jab that snapped Evloev’s head back.
The Russian didn’t take much time to respond, landing a looping right overhand mixed with a left hook to the body. In advancing position, Evloev found success in the striking, most notably with a number of whipping body kicks that drew a bit of a wince from London’s Lerone Murphy.
Once Murphy was able to escape the pressure of Evloev, the striker began finding his targets more accurately, leaning on his kicking game to soften up the midsection of the No. 1 contender. As round one came to a close, Evloev resumed his forward pressure, but not before Murphy landed another flush kick to the body of the Russian.
Into round two, Movsar Evloev remained consistent with the pressure he was putting on Murphy, testing the London native in the striking game. Despite being on the back foot, “The Miracle” was still able to open up well, landing two counter hooks on the advancing Evloev.
Evloev found some openings himself, landing two right overhands directly above Murphy’s guard and occasionally sneaking in an uppercut in the pocket. A few nice power shots landed for the Russian before the round ended, with Evloev’s power definitely comparable to the volume of Lerone Murphy through two rounds.
Movsar came out with a much more aggressive game plan in round three. Evloev applied early pressure on Murphy, resulting in the London native making his first mistake of the fight: a body kick in the pocket that was easily caught and turned into a takedown by the Russian.
Impressively, Murphy was able to return to his feet with ease, though shortly after, the fight was paused when Evloev landed a kick to the groin of Murphy.
Out of the pause in action, Murphy began turning the tide back in his favor, landing a beautiful spinning back kick that partially connected to the head of Evloev. Murphy continued to find success at range, sticking to his kickboxing, bruising the body of Movsar Evloev into a bright red.
Though it was short-lived success for Murphy, as Evloev landed the biggest shot to that point in the fight, cracking Lerone with a hook to the head. Swarming the Londoner with a number of strikes, Evloev finished the round with a clean knee to the body, perhaps stealing the round in the Russian’s favor.
Round four got underway, though it was stopped again just fifteen seconds in as Evloev landed another inadvertent kick to the groin. With the count now at two, referee Mark Goddard take a point, a crushing reality after his strong finish to round three.
Despite having a point taken, Evloev continued his push, overwhelming Murphy in both the striking and the grappling. Movsar landed two chain takedowns, bringing Murphy to the mat twice, but Lerone Murphy was no worse for wear as he returned to his feet after only a short time.
Back on their feet, the featherweights continued their competitive battle as the fourth round came to a close. Notably, Murphy threw a kick to the midsection of Evloev but threw himself off balance, resulting in Movsar rushing into top position and landing some significant ground and pound before Murphy returned to his feet as the round ended.
Again, Evloev had a strong start to the fifth round, with Murphy almost completely overwhelmed as Movsar found success on multiple takedowns, finally scoring prolonged control on the ground.
Bloodied and battered, Murphy somehow returned to his feet, escaping the grasp of the elite grappler in Movsar Evloev. Lerone landed a few nice combinations, including a sharp one-two to the head of Evloev, but the Russian quickly returned the fight to the ground in the final minute.
With whatever final juice “The Miracle” had left, he returned to his feet for the closing seconds, but it was all for nothing as the fight reached the scorecards in the final bout of the night.
Tonight, it was the Russian Movsar Evloev securing a unanimous decision victory, but not all was lost, as Murphy gave a valiant effort in front of the home crowd. While Evloev, now 20-0, likely earns himself a title shot against UFC legend Alexander Volkanovski, it’s back to the drawing board for Lerone Murphy, who suffers the first loss of his professional career.
Official Result: Movsar Evloev def. Lerone Murphy by majority decision (48-46, 48-46, 47-47)
