Some of the UFC’s leading featherweight title contenders are squabbling on social media about who should get to fight the current champion Alexander Volkanovski next.
The undefeated Lerone Murphy kicked things off when the No.4 ranked contender announced that he should be next in line to fight Volk after watching Diego Lopes TKO another top contender Jean Silva in the main event of Noche UFC 3 on Saturday.
“It’s on!!!! Let’s go volkanovski. That was a great fight though,” Murphy wrote on X.
The 34-year-old Murphy certainly makes sense to be in the title picture as he’s never lost in his 17-0-1 career and has won nine UFC fights in a row, including a stunning 1st round spinning elbow KO of Aaron Pico last month.
He’s not the only 145lb’er with his eye on that title shot however, as ex-bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling also fancies his chances after defeating Brian Ortega just a few weeks ago.
“Wait a minute, bruv…” Sterling responded to Murphy’s original post.
That prompted Murphy to question why the No.5 ranked Sterling is even throwing his hat into the ring at this stage.
“How is Aljo’s name even in the mix? I’m confused,” Murphy stated. “Bro’s 2-2 in his last 4 fights. He was a good bantamweight but an average featherweight. ONLY 1 name makes sense and that is LERONE MURPHY
“Diego [Lopes] done amazing against Silva but not much changes in a rematch against Volk. The people want to see new match ups. I’m 17-0 for a reason. ITS MY TIME!”
However, Sterling then fired back, suggesting that Murphy’s record flatters to decieve.
““You beat a Bellator guy, brodie, ran circles from Emmett, and have 2 finishes your whole UFC career,” Sterling informed Murphy. “I’m a 3x defending former champ, beat a 2x title challenger, almost 3x the UFC wins than you. Brother, I am next. My name makes perfect sense and I can show you a miracle.”
Naturally, Murphy disagreed with his assessment of the situation.
“Pico would beat you though, 100% and you know it. And I’ve had 3 finishes in the UFC. Bro I’m not discrediting your resume at bantamweight but you won’t touch gold at featherweight.”
Sterling has since conceded that Murphy is a good fighter, but still believes he has a good chance to leapfrog him in the title reckoning.
“I like Murphy,” Sterling acknowledged. “He has an interesting style to problem solve. But to say my name doesn’t belong in the mix is showing his insecurities. I’ve never turned down a fight. We will see what the bosses and Volk wants to do.”
And that could have been that, but then current No.1 contender Movsar Evloev entered the chat.
“Congratulations Diego Lopes, let’s do the rematch or maybe I can fight Lerone Murphy, it doesn’t matter any of these two guys,” Evloev wrote.
“I’m the only guy who can beat Volk right now, but if I have to fight Lerone or Diego then I have no problem doing it.”
Evloev then skipped referencing Sterling since he already beat him back in December and instead went on to respond directly to Murphy.
“Hey man, you’re probably not gonna get this title shot and me and you will end up fighting, I’m looking forward to it. But, if you do end up getting the title shot then Good Luck,” Evloev told Sterling.
“I beat Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen and Aljamain Sterling very easy. Nobody deserve anything and if any of them want to fight me again I have no problem.”
It’s hard to argue with Evloev’s 19-0 career record, including nine wins in the UFC so far, and as he mentions it’s hard to beat his strength of schedule after beating Lopes, Allen and Sterling in his last three fights.
With that in mind Evloev has certainly done enough to earn a title shot, but the issue for him is that the UFC brass clearly isn’t impressed with the fact that he’s yet to find a finish in the Octagon, which appears to be why he keeps getting overlooked.
Murphy’s UFC run is also quite decision-heavy, but that highlight-reel finish over Pico recently did catch the attention of Dana White, and so regardless of their respective rankings that could yet have a big influence on who gets to fight Volkanovski.
