Former Champion Questions UFC’s Legitimacy: Why Does Diego Lopes Get Another Title Shot While Lerone Murphy Waits?
After Alexander Volkanovski’s dominant unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in April, the UFC announced an immediate rematch for the January 31 headliner at UFC 325 in Sydney. The former UFC champion’s problem isn’t with the matchup itself, it’s with the fact that Lerone Murphy, the undefeated #4 ranked featherweight who’s been tearing through the division, got left on the sidelines.
Why Does Diego Lopes Get Another Title Shot While Lerone Murphy Waits?
Demetrious Johnson has become increasingly vocal about how the UFC hands out title shots, and his latest critique cuts to the heart of what’s been bothering hardcore fans about the featherweight division.
“I felt Alex Volkanovski won that fight in dominant fashion,” Johnson said. “Are we doing this for popularity, or are we doing this for who is better? That is where I start to question the legitimacy of what we call this sport. It is pick and choose. I am going to push this athlete because he has the market.”
The numbers paint a clear picture of Murphy’s case. He’s 17-0 with a draw, and in August he delivered one of the year’s most spectacular knockouts, dispatching Aaron Pico in the first round with a spinning back elbow. He took that fight on short notice against someone widely considered a top-five featherweight. Meanwhile, Lopes has one notable outing since losing to Volkanovski, a knockout of Jean Silva in September. That performance was impressive enough to convince the UFC to book the rematch instead of looking at Movsar Evloev or Murphy.
Even Volkanovski acknowledged the elephant in the room. “UFC really wanted Lopes,” he said on his YouTube channel, “but with Movsar and Lerone, they’re more deserving, but are they going to bring the fight like Lopes would?” The champion essentially confirmed that merit took a backseat to entertainment value and marketability.
Murphy appeared on Johnson’s podcast just days before UFC 325 was announced, and the disappointment was evident. “When I first found out, I fell out of love with it for a bit,” Murphy said. “I got into MMA over boxing because I thought there were no politics.” When Lopes later told other contenders to “get to work and stop whining,” Murphy fired back: “You can’t tell me to get to work. I’ve won nine fights in a row.”
This isn’t new territory for Johnson, who’s spent years questioning whether the UFC operates like a true sport or professional wrestling with athletic legitimacy. Rankings mean little if they don’t determine title shots. Interim belts become punchlines. And undefeated contenders sit home while rematch storylines move up the queue. As Johnson sees it, the system rewards popularity over performance, which fundamentally contradicts what makes sport compelling.
