One of the UFC 319 co-headliners thinks he knows why the Finishes have not come for him lately.
The Octagon is back in the 'Windy City' this week, because the UFC-PAY-per-View of Augustus is falling from the United Center in Chicago.
A number of intriguing matchups are set for the UFC 319 card, nothing more than Dricus du Persis and Khamzat Chimaev's title collision in the main event. And before they fight for the middleweight gold, top featherweights will clash with a potential title shot at the game.
The unbeaten Lerone Murphy finally wants to secure his first chance of championship in his 10th UFC fight. His opponent, Aaron Pico, still has to compete under the banner of the promotion, but has the chance to make a big splash against one of the most appreciated names of the division.
Murphy has won eight consecutive fights since a draw in his UFC debut six years ago. But in recent years of his unbeaten run, finishes were missing in one thing.
Lerone Murphy recognizes four years of waiting for his next UFC knock-out
Murphy will welcome Pico at the UFC in the Co-Main event on Saturday, a fight that comes four months after the second main event of the Englishman.
After he passed Edson Barboza last year on the Apex, Murphy Josh Emmett defeated in his return to the location to head UFC Vegas 105 last April. Both results of the main event came through a unanimous decision, just like a UFC 308 outing then IG between them.
That has made five decisions about the bouncer since Murphy brutally Makwan Amirkhani slept with a knee in 2021. And 'The Miracle' partially blames his decreasing finish on his reduction to the lighthmal limit.
“Not switching off people can do a number of things,” Murphy told Card Player. “The level of the opponent has risen enormously.
“I think the weight of the weight ensures that I lose my strength. I lose my strength, and as you get older, the weight savings become more difficult.
“So it's probably more exhausting,” Murphy continued. “I think that's a big reason. But I try to complete my game. Before I was a dominant striker and I never really trained much for wrestling.”
Lerone Murphy told Alexander Volkanovski if he wins on UFC 319
With a victory over UFC 319, Murphy will insist on a title shot that he already thinks he has earned by beating Emmett the previous time out.
In that respect, the Brit will receive the support of the former two-part UFC champion Henry Cejudo, who believes that the winner of the UFC 319 event on Saturday should definitely be the following for Alexander Volkanovski.
And in addition to challenging the Australian legend, Cejudo thinks that Murphy of Pico will be champion.
“The winner of this fight is going to fight Alexander Volkanovski, and I also feel that the winner of this fight will be our next champion,” said Cejudo on his 4 pounds next to Kamaru Usman.
“All the respect for people, but guy, these young weapons. Lerone Murphy is fighting Aaron Pico. Aaron Pico is in his F-Prime, Bro. Power, struggling; he has been a manchild since he was a child, competing at the highest level while he was in high school, throbbing world champion.
“And then Lerone Murphy, which he was able to do with many of these hunters, man,” Cejudo continued. “Unbeaten, very difficult, brings a lot of struggling into; he is different, he is like Merab (Dvalishvili).”