Lerone Murphy Wasn’t Happy About the Title Shot Snub: “Very disappointed.”
When the UFC announced Alexander Volkanovski versus Diego Lopes for the featherweight title, Lerone Murphy’s world shifted. The undefeated British fighter had done what many thought was enough, knocked out Aaron Pico with a spinning elbow in the first round of UFC 319, a statement-making finish that silenced years of criticism about his technical, decision-heavy style. He’d earned his shot. Or so he believed.
How Is Lerone Murphy Handling His UFC Title Snub?
Instead of a December date with the champion, Murphy found himself watching from the sidelines as Lopes, a fighter Volkanovski had already dominated just eight months earlier at UFC 314, leapfrogged the entire division for a rematch. The sting was immediate. Murphy took to social media, frustrated by what he saw as a popularity contest masquerading as matchmaking. He admitted to losing his passion for the sport altogether, questioning whether MMA was truly the meritocracy he’d fled boxing to find.
But something has shifted in the past month. Speaking on The MightyCast with Demetrious Johnson on December 30, Murphy revealed a markedly different tone. “I was very disappointed at the time, disheartened,” he said. “Now I’ve had time to digest it, it’s kind of a perspective thing. I’m working with a performance coach, everything he’s teaching me is about forgetting the bad.”
For someone whose entire journey has been unconventional, this approach tracks. Murphy started training MMA at 22, nearly a decade after most of his competitors. He survived being shot in the face during a Manchester drive-by at 21, an experience that would have ended most people’s careers before they started. Adversity isn’t foreign to him, it’s just another workout.
The title shot snub certainly hurts more than most setbacks. But Murphy’s framing of it as a “perspective thing” suggests he’s not letting this derail him. The 17-0-1 record speaks for itself. Nine consecutive UFC wins, all against the competition the promotion put in front of him. He’s done the work. The snub says more about the business of the UFC than it does about his legitimacy as a challenger.
What comes next is what matters now. Whether he fights Movsar Evloev at UFC London or another contender, Murphy has a chance to remind the division why he’s earned his shot.
