Murphy shuts down Silva UFC title talk

Lerone Murphy says the winner of his bout with Movsar Evloev at UFC London on Saturday should be next in line to fight for the featherweight title and it “shouldn’t be any other way”.

Britain’s Murphy, who is third in the UFC’s featherweight rankings, takes on the first-ranked Russian in the main event at the O2 Arena.

Despite the high rankings of the two fighters, the UFC have not officially branded it a number one contender bout for the championship, which is held by Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski.

Brazil’s Jean Silva, who is sixth in the rankings, says he is set to jump the queue and sign a contract to fight Volkanovski – a claim which has been shut down by Murphy.

“Well who knows? [Silva’s] 1-1 in his last two. The winner of me and Mosvar fights for the title and it shouldn’t be any other way,” said Murphy.

“You just never know in this game. It’s all about perform a finish. I want it to be undeniable so they can’t not give me the shot.”

The victory thrust Murphy into the title picture, with Volkanovski saying he expected the 34-year-old to be his next opponent.

Instead, the UFC opted to pit Volkanovski in a rematch against Brazil’s second-ranked Diego Lopes, who he had beaten 10 months prior.

Volkanovski comfortably beat Silva in January, leaving Murphy and Evloev as the most likely to next challenge for the title.

Like Murphy, Evloev is unbeaten having won the first 19 fights of his career.

The 32-year-old last fought in December 2024 where he earned a unanimous decision win over former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.