UFC 319 goes down this weekend, and the co-main event is one to watch out for in the featherweight division. Top contender and undefeated star, Lerone Murphy, will welcome former Bellator top contender, Aaron Pico, to the elite of the UFC.
At 16-0-1, Murphy has looked nearly flawless thus far in his UFC career, most recently defeating fellow top contender, Josh Emmett, in a main event spot. Pico, however, has been out of action since February 2024, although he was scheduled to face Movsar Evloev a few weeks ago. Expect both men to put it all on the line to get the win this weekend.
Lerone Murphy Wants to Make a Statement
Speaking to Sporting Talk, Lerone Murphy stated clearly that he wants to finish Pico and make a big statement at UFC 319. Murphy said:
“I believe it’s going to be a great fight. I think it’s probably the toughest match-up I’ve had so far in my career stylistically and it’s going to be a great fight, man. But I think I can find holes and I believe I’m going to come out victorious. I want to go out there and make a big statement. And I want to finish him.”
Murphy has seven knockouts and nine decisions across his 16 wins. He is, however, without a win since 2021 and has strung five straight decisions together. There could be a good reason for this, though, as Murphy believes that it’s the brutal weight cuts to 145lbs that have caused him to lose power. He told Sporting Talk:
“Not knocking people out can be down to a number of things. The level of the opponent has gone up massively. I think weight cuts cause me to lose my power. I lose my power and obviously as you get older the weight cuts get harder. So it’s probably depleting yourself more. I think that’s a big reason for it. But I am trying to round out my game. Before I was a dominant striker and I never really trained much for wrestling.”
Looking Ahead
If Lerone Murphy manages to do what he says and defeat Aaron Pico via finish, making a statement, a title shot shouldn’t be too far away for the Brit. He stated:
“I’m looking at anything to get to the title. I’ll fight anybody to get to Volk”.
He also suggested that he believed that a fight with fellow Brit, Arnold Allen would have happened by now:
“I did think I would’ve been fighting Arnold Allen now, to be honest. When I was looking at the division and everybody’s injured or matched up, Arnold Allen was the only one. So I did think I would’ve been fighting him, but if the UFC wants it and he wants to, we can do it in the UK. I don’t think it’s going to happen for now.”
Whatever happens next, Lerone Murphy has a big task on his hands at UFC 319 and must get through Pico before looking at the champion.
