We’ve got a little bit of everything on this edition of Losers matchmaker, from fighters likely facing the promotional axe to fighters suffering their first ever loss.

Lerone Murphy

(#1) Movsar Evloev relied on his endless gas tank and grappling base to narrowly edge out (#3) Lerone Murphy via majority decision in the main event on Saturday. The loss was Lerone’s first of his entire pro MMA career and his UFC record now falls to 17-1-1.

Given how this one went down, five rounds, close fight, Murphy took some damage with at least an injured hip and a nasty gash. Best pairing here would be to match him up against the loser of Steve Garcia vs Diego Lopes.  That fight goes doesn’t go down till mid-June, so it’d give Lerone plenty of time put still present a worth adversary.

If Diego loses, he’s lost three of his last four yes, but two of those being matchups against the Volk for the belt. If Steve loses, he’s still ripped off a seven-fight win streak with six finishes, with one stumble against a highly ranked guy. Both fighters would add nothing but legitimacy to Murphy’s already stellar record and present a good amount of time to heal up. Easy main event of a Fight Night or on a main card of a numbered event.

Murphy’s next fight: Steve Garcia vs Diego Lopes Loser

Michael Aswell Jr.

Luke Riley landed the more damaging shots on his way to a unanimous decision victory over Michael Aswell Jr. in the co main event of UFC London. Aswell was landing punches, but Riley was able to walk through them and return shots that forced big reactions out of Aswell. Michael is now 1-2 in the UFC since being signed and making his promotional debut on short notice last May.

Michael should take on either Kurtis Campbell or Yi Zha. Just depends on if it the matchmakers want to give Campbell another tall task or a more manageable one. Michael Aswell is no easy fight in the featherweight division, but he is a fight that’d be on Campbell’s level. A good back up would be Yi Zha. Yi Zha is 1-2 with the UFC after coming off of Road top UFC in 2023. He’s lost two of his last three fights with his lone victory coming against Westin Wilson who is no longer with the promotion.  Yi Zha does have over 30 pro fights despite his 1-3 UFC record, so it’s a good challenge for Aswell.

Aswell’s next fight: Kutis Campbell or Yi Zha

Sam Patterson

Michael Page out pointed Sam Patterson on Saturday in a very disappointing and lackluster standup affair. Despite the fight not living up to the hype, Patterson still logged a loss, which was his second in the UFC. Sam was actually riding a four-fight win streak where he had stopped every opponent in round one. Tough break for the 29-year-old 2022 Contender Series alum as he losses all his momentum and slips to 4-2 with the UFC.

Good next fight for Sam would be for him to take on Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani. Jean-Paul is a 2025 Contender Series vet that is 1-0 with the promotion. He defeated Phil Rowe in his debut back in February via split decision. Rowe was cut after the bout, though it’s worth mentioning that he did miss weight. Jean-Paul was supposed to draw former Bellator standout, Austin Vanderford in his UFC debut, before Austin withdrew. So obviously, the matchmakers expect a lot out of him. Patterson seems like an excellent matchup for Lebosnoyani, despite coming off of a loss.

Patterson’s next fight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani

Austen Lane

Iwo Baraniewski starched Austen Lane in under 30 seconds to earn a performance bonus on the main card of UFC London on Saturday. Terrible showing for Lane who had been out of the octagon for nearly a year and was making his debut at 205lbs. Lane now has the incredibly ugly UFC record of 1-5 with 1 no contest. Lane’s lone win, and the reason why he’s still with the promotion, came in October of 2024 when he derailed the hype train that was Robelis Despaigne by logging a unanimous decision victory.

Lane should fight the loser of the Brendson Ribeiro vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev fight. That fight goes down on April 4th so potentially the timing could work. If Ribeiro loses it’d be perfect as he’d be 2-5 with the UFC. If Abdul were to lose, he’d be 1-1 with the UFC. This is also assuming that Lane stays with the UFC and at 205lbs.

Lane’s next fight: Brendson Ribeiro vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev Loser

Roman Dolidze

Christian Leory Duncan looked quick and dangerous on the way to his unanimous decision victory over Roman Dolidze on Saturday. The loss is devastating for Dolidze as CLD entered the fight unranked while Roman was ranked at #11 in the middleweight division. Even worse, Dolidze is now riding a two-fight losing streak and is 9-5 within the UFC. Dolidze’s other loss was to Anthony Hernandez via submission in August of last year.

Little bit of a weird pick here but it could make sense. Jared Cannonier. Cannonier hasn’t fought since last August when he lost a unanimous decision to Micheal Page. He’s lost three of his last four fights despite being ranked at #10 in the division currently. Jared recently turned 42 and is likely looking upwards in the rankings for fights. But the two were matched up to fight in 2023 before Cannonier injured his knee, cancelling the bout. Cannonier is 1-3 since then with a win over Gregory Rodrigues in February 2025. Dolidze is 2-3 in the division (3-3 total) in that time period. Still could be main card territory of a fight night, especially if Dolidze stays in the rankings.

Doldize’s next fight:  Jared Cannonier

Kurtis Campbell

Danny Silva kicked off UFC London’s main card with a bang on Saturday, as he flattened undefeated Kurtis Campbell in “The Pink Panther’s” UFC debut. The loss was the first of 23-year-old Liverpool native’s pro MMA career as he falls to 8-1.

The UFC obviously expect a lot out of the youngster as Silva went the distance with newly ranked featherweight, (#10) Kevin Vallejos, last August. ‘The Pink Panther’ should take on Michael Aswell Jr or Kaan Ofli. Michael lost earlier on the card to an undefeated prospect, so it’d be right up his alley.  Or if the UFC wants to continue to push the youngster they could match him against Kaan Ofl. Kaan is 2-2 with the UFC. Olfi is an The Ultimate Fighter Season 32 runner-up, and even though he’s riding a two-fight win streak, one of those fighters is no longer with the promotion (Ricardo Ramos).

Campbell’s next fight:  Michael Aswell Jr. or Kaan Ofli

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You’d likewise be forgiven for wondering why he wasn’t deserving of a co-main event spot.

The promotion, for reasons known only to them, had opted to relegate arguably the biggest name on the UFC London line-up to midway through the main card. The “MVP” chant as Page made his walk to the octagon underscored his status at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Patterson, a former training partner of Page who had been mostly overlooked in the build-up, stayed outside early, staying on his horse and away from Page’s dangerous striking. Page went to the body, with his usual hands-low style, looking loose and trying to lure Patterson into the a counter. From there, something of a chess match played out, MVP on the hunt, Patterson refusing to get too close. Fans didn’t pay to see a chess match, however.

At the end of the round, Page fired a head kick that was blocked, and a back fist that was also blocked.

An MVP chant erupted to start the second, as both men took swings without either landing clean. When Patterson moved forward, he was hitting air. Page was having slightly more success with his advances, which likely had him up in the fight. Patterson finally closed the distance and clinched up, looking to test Page’s takedown defense. Page quickly peeled Patterson off him, moving back to center.

The boo-birds had returned, as Page bounced on his feet, looking for an opening. When Patterson came in next, he was tagged by a Page counter. A clinch followed, but again Patterson could not land the takedown.

Patterson came out a little hotter to start the third, connecting on Page about a minute in. Page was on his heels more a bit, with the pair ending up in a clinch. Page reversed, but wound up against the fence again moments later. Had Patterson gone this route earlier, it might have been a path to victory, but he likely needed a finish. It wasn’t the be found, with the fight instead going the distance.

Not what anyone had hoped for, but Michael Page came away with the unanimous decision victory.

Official Result: Michael Page def. Sam Patterson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Patterson was in search of his fourth consecutive win, while Waters, a former LFA champ, was doing the same, having earned victories in his first two UFC outings following his last bout in his old organization.

Both of these lengthy strikes stood at range early exchanging jabs and straight punches on the inside. Waters moved forward landing a good right hand as Patterson circled to the outside. A good jab connected from Waters who seemed to be timing Patterson up on the feet. Patterson countered an incoming jab from Waters and hit home with a massive overhand right that did massive damage. Waters was stumbling all over the cage eating punches from Patterson. Another right straight connected to an unbalanced Waters as the referee stopped the fight.

A sensational win from Sam Patterson who fought a highly talented opponent in Trey Waters, finishing him in the first round. Patterson said that he is ready for a step up in competition calling out Neil Magny, while clamoring for a 50 thousand dollar performance bonus.

Official Result: Sam Patterson def. Trey Waters by TKO (punches), Round 1, 3:01

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While Barlow had won his first two bouts under the UFC banner, Patterson was coming off back-to-back submissions wins, his latest one over Kiefer Crosbie.

Due to the open stance matchup, both fighters were clearly mindful of each other’s power hand. The first minute was mostly spent with Barlow stalking and Patterson feinting. Barlow landed the first left hand he threw and followed it up with some big low kicks that forced resets from the Englishman. Patterson went to the body with some right hands, but ate a left from Barlow on the exit. With Barlow keeping his left hand low, he got caught by a big counter right hook from Patterson that sent American stumbling back. Patterson followed it up with a right straight that dropped the retreating Barlow. Some ground-and-pound shots for good measure left referee Mike Beltran no choice but to put a stop to the contest.

The betting underdog made a statement and took Barlow’s ‘0’ in the process. Though he didn’t have a name to call out, Patterson will look to keep moving up the ladder as he’s 3-0 since making the move up to welterweight. All three of those victories have come by first-round finish.

“He caught me with some good shots, I just caught him with better ones at the end,” stated Patterson following the bout, revealing he’d just fought out his contract and was hoping to sign a new deal. “I want to cement myself in the UFC. I want to have a career here.”

Official Result: Sam Patterson def. Danny Barlow by knockout (punches), Round 1, 3:10

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“The worst thing you can do to me is talk smack,” Patterson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’m nothing but respectful. If you talk smack to me I’m going to make you pay, and that’s what he was doing. I’m not going to lie when they said 100k (bonus) I did think about running out and double footing him in the face, and hoping…worst case comes worse things, I would have just pulled guard.”

Patterson (12-2-1) looks to get in

“Definitely want one more. I want three fights this year. A dream of mine is to fight out in Vegas again. I fought in Vegas on the Contender Series. It’d be nice to go back there and do it in the UFC officially. This is my third PPV now so put me on the PPV at the end of the year. Let me open the card that would be absolutely amazing,” he said.

“To be honest I haven’t looked at anyone in the welterweight division. I’m so focused on myself. I’m earning my stripes in the UFC. I’m not in this position to be calling people out. I think you start doing that when you’re top 15. I’m just getting my foot in the door trying to prove myself.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Sam Patterson above.

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Standing at 6’3″, Sam is one of the tallest lightweights in the history of the division, standing four inches taller and with eight inches of reach on his opponent, Crosbie, who lost his UFC debut on short notice last year. In this battle of England vs Ireland, the Walford man came out on top with a dominant win in front of a home crowd in Manchester.

The pair started out with a feeling out process on the feet from range. Crosbie walked forward aggressively and after the first minute they both let their hands go. However, Patterson absorbed a groin strike which paused the momentum, but they got right back to battle. Patterson landed a big right uppercut to Crosbie and began to look quite fluid on the feet, so Keifer clinched up. Unfortunately doe him, Sam reversed it and got a takedown right into full mount. He instant began to set up an arm triangle choke and Crosbie had little defense. He stepped off to try to finish it, stepped back into mount to lock it tighter, and then stepped off again, forcing the Irishman to tap.

With a blazing quick win in his third UFC fight, Sam Patterson seems to be a bright prospect if he can avoid hanging his chin in the air overconfidently, which cost him in his first UFC fight. At 28 years old, the time is now for him to put it all together and enter his prime.

Official Result: Sam Patterson def. Keifer Crosbie by Submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 1, 2:50

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Patterson (11-2-1) spent a decade as a lightweight, and said during his post-fight press conference appearance that the move up feels like a new chapter in his career.

“It feels like a new chapter. It feels like a new page in my career. I spent ten years at lightweight. I just feel like I’ve turned the page,” said Patterson, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “I always said I’d go up to welterweight as soon as lightweight got too difficult. After that it just feels like I’ve turned the page and started a new chapter in the UFC. Let’s do another 10 years at welterweight. Who knows, in five years I could end up at middleweight. Who knows.”

On his performance, Patterson was pragmatic. “There’s always room for improvement, that’s how I always come out of every fight. I said it when I lost, I say it when I win. I’ll be straight back in the gym making the improvements. I’m very happy with the performance. I always say I would like that cage time but at the same time if I can finish everyone like that, I’m going to have a great career, aren’t I?”

England’s Sam Patterson later added that he wanted to “change my life this year,” and believes he has the opportunity to do that in the UFC. But just what does changing his life look like? Investments, a big house, fast cars?

“All of the above,” answered Patterson. “I haven’t got any of them things you said. I’ve got a push bike, and I’ve worked my ass off. And now I want to get the car, a house, I want to level up my life. I want to change it. I don’t want to be struggling financially anymore. Like living fight to fight, spending my last pounds on the medicals to come over here and fight. I don’t want to be doing that anymore. I don’t want to struggle. So that’s me saying I want to change my life. That just gives me freedom. The financial side gives me the freedom to train even more, and not struggle anymore.”

Watch the full UFC 297 post-fight press conference appearance by Sam Patterson above.

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Patterson took a brutal debut knockout loss in his native England in 2023. At six-foot-three-inches tall, it seemed likely that the lack of a brutal weight cut would improve his durability, but Lainesse is a tough first test for a fighter’s chin at a new weight class with his tendency to land powerful, looping strikes. The French-Canadian fed off the energy from his home crowd, but Sam Patterson’s grappling played spoiler to their fun.

Lainesse and Patterson went through an early feeling-out process in the first. Scarcely a jab was landed in the first minute but in the second minute Lainesse blitzed forward with hooks. He crashed into the clinch but it was Patterson who used a front headlock to drag Yohan down and transition to a back take. Patterson instantly attacked the rear-naked choke and Lainesse actually made it easier for him by lifting his chin up. Once the arm was under the chin it was only a moment before Yohan tapped.

With three straight submissions to start the card, UFC 297 was off to a hot start and Canadians fell to 1-2 as the early prelims ended. But Sam Patterson only cared that he had overcame his struggles in 2023 to earn his first UFC win and finish.

Official Result: Sam Patterson def. Yohan Lainesse by Submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 2:03

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Ashmoz was just the second Israeli fighter to make it to the UFC, and was a virtual unknown, representing the biggest question mark on the card. Patterson meanwhile would obviously have the crowd in his corner come Saturday at the O2 Arena.

Inside of a round, however, Yanal Ashmoz gave all the answers fans were looking for.

It was a slow start to this lightweight scrap, with Ashmoz looking to get inside on Patterson. But when he did, he came storming out of the gate, catching a kick, and landing a thunderous left hook as Patterson was on his way down. Ashmoz jumped right into mount, unleashing fury as Patterson’s head bounced off the canvas.

Even after the finish, Patterson continued trying to fight, struggling with ref Marc Goddard as his coaches tried to explain that the fight was already over.

Following the win, Ashmoz said the slow start was him just waiting to feel out his opponent. The left hand was not something he’d been working on, he added. “To be honest, no, but we know he’s tall and he goes back, so we did a combination, going forward and punching.”

Ashmoz called the moment “like a dream come true man. I just came back two years ago and I’m here, standing. Awesome knockout.”

Official Result: Yanal Ashmoz def. Sam Patterson by knockout, Round 1, 1:15

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