Featherweights Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev clashed in London on Saturday night with a title shot on the line for the winner
Lerone Murphy takes on Movsar Evloev
Lerone Murphy’s dreams of a UFC title shot were shattered as he lost to Movsar Evloev.
The Brit felt he had done enough to earn a fight with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski by knocking out Aaron Pico last August. But the promotion instead handed the challenge to Diego Lopes.
Murphy was instead tasked with taking on the division’s No.1 challenger and despite a strong start and Evloev having a point deducted, the Manchester man slipped to his first career defeat.
“I”m sorry to let you down tonight, I gave all I could give and it wasn’t enough,” he said. “One thing I’d like to say, Evloev deserves the title shot. I’ll be back, don’t worry. My hip popped in the third round but no excuses.”
Murphy succeeded in keeping the opening round on the feet but it was Evloev who landed the better strikes over the first five minutes. The Brit edged an equally-cagey second session but neither man appeared willing to commit in the early stages. Evloev finally shot for a takedown in the third round when Murphy misjudged a knee, but the home favourite escaped.
Roared on by fellow Mancunian Noel Gallagher, Murphy began to impose himself in the second half of the session, but Evloev finished the stronger with neither man particularly showcasing his title credentials. But Murphy was handed a gift at the start of the fourth round when Evloev was deducted a point for a low blow.
Evloev immediately shot for a takedown as he looked to turn the fight to his advantage. He had Murphy on the canvas three times but on each occasion the Brit recovered well.
Murphy, having told his corner he had injured his hip, was taken down again a minute into the final round but despite shipping punishment, the Brit scrambled back to his feet. By now sporting a deep gash above his left eye, Murphy spent much of the final 30 seconds of the fight on his back but survived to hear the bell only for the judges to condemn him to defeat.
In the co-main event, Luke Riley made it two wins from two in the promotion with a shutout win over Michael Aswell Jr. Featherweight Riley, who trains with lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett, remains unbeaten but rated his performance just five out of 10. “I’m a perfectionist,” he added.
Also on the main card, Michael ‘Venom’ Page appeared to send a message to the UFC brass over fighter pay when he walked in to Michael Jackson’s ‘They Don’t Care About Us’, but then stank out The O2 over three rounds against Sam Patterson. The crowd booed relentlessly before Page was given the nod by unanimous decision. Christian Leroy Duncan, meanwhile, earned himself a middleweight ranking with an impressive points win over Roman Dolidze.
And on the prelims, Shanelle Dyer stopped Ravena Oliveira to make a statement on her UFC debut but Shem Rock slipped to a second successive defeat. Nathaniel Wood won a back-and-forth contest with Losene Keita while Mason Jones impressed in a points win over Axel Sola.
FULL UFC LONDON RESULTS
MAIN CARD
- Movsar Evloev bt Lerone Murphy by majority decision (48-46, 48-46, 47-47)
- Luke Riley bt Michael Aswell Jr by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Michael “Venom” Page bt Sam Patterson by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
- Iwo Baraniewski bt Austen Lane by TKO (strikes) at 0:28 of Round 1
- Christian Leroy Duncan bt Roman Dolidze by animous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Danny Silva bt Kurtis Campbell by TKO at 0:31 of Round 2
PRELIMS
- Mason Jones bt Axel Sola by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nathaniel Wood bt Losene Keita by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mario Pinto bt Felipe Franco by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mantas Kondratavicius bt Antonio Trocoli by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Brando Pericic bt Louie Sutherland by TKO (strikes) at 1:48 of Round 1
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady bt Shem Rock by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Shanelle Dyer bt Ravena Oliveira by TKO (strikes) at 1:17 of Round 2
