Lerone Murphy shouldn't be here.
The English featherweight’s nickname of "The Miracle" is a well-deserved one, and not one to be taken lightly.
Eleven years ago, after leaving a barber's shop in Fallowfield, just outside Manchester, Murphy was shot multiple times. One bullet hit him in the face, while two more hit his neck. Incredibly, Murphy survived, and he has since gone on to become one of the UK’s most talented MMA fighters.
This weekend at UFC Vegas 92, Murphy is set to make the walk the Octagon in his first ever UFC main event as he prepares to face a legend. Brazil's Edson Barboza may not have captured a UFC title during his career, but his highlight reel stands up against any fighter who has ever set foot inside the Octagon. His kicks are like being hit by a baseball bat, and his punishing strikes have led to a plethora of spectacular finishes during his career. His wheel-kick knockout of England's Terry Etim at UFC 142 back in 2012 remains one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history.
Now 38, and with a career record of 24 wins, 11 losses, Barboza's reputation precedes him. When you step into the cage with him, you know what's coming. The question is, can you stop him before he stops you?
That's the challenge facing Murphy this weekend at the UFC APEX, the promotion's purpose-built facility where they hold small-scale shows away from bright lights of their arena events.
The atmosphere is intimate and raw, with every punch, kick and gasp for air audible to those watching in the building. It was the UFC's dedicated home during the pandemic. Now it's the stage for fighters to prove that they're ready to play a starring role in their big arena shows.
And that's where Murphy finds himself. If he can use his combination of sharp striking, range control and takedown skills to defeat Barboza, big things await for the 32-year-old, and he knows it.
Chatting to the media ahead of this weekend’s fight, he explained how he learned of his huge opportunity.
“Literally, it was a text,” he said. “‘The matchmaker wants you to fight Edson Barboza – five rounds.’ And my thought was ‘Wow! This is my opportunity. This is my breakthrough. This is my time to shine now.”
The chance to not just headline a UFC event, but do so against such a respected, dangerous opponent is a scary prospect. But it’s one that Murphy said will bring the best out of him.
“It’s not really the aspect of being the main event. It’s who I’m fighting is moreso the big thing,” he said.
“I’m fighting Edson Barboza. A legend of the sport. A dangerous fighter. And that’s what excites me.
“I feel like that’s gonna make me fight better, because he’s going to add that fear factor, which I need. I know, looking at my previous fights, that if I don’t have that fear factor, I don’t perform. So I feel like that’s going to bring the best out of me. But obviously, I’m not going to be showing him too much respect in there. A fight’s a fight.”
Murphy currently sits outside the UFC's official rankings, which list the top 15 fighters in each weight class. But with Barboza listed 12th in the UFC's 145-pound featherweight division, Murphy knows that victory on Saturday night should put a number next to his name by the time he arrives home to Manchester next week.
The UFC is set to follow Murphy to Manchester, too, with the Octagon set to take centre stage at the new Co-op Live arena on July 27 for a big pay-per-view event, UFC 304. It would mean a quick turnaround and diving straight back into training camp upon his return home, but Murphy admitted the lure of potentially fighting on a huge event in his home town would be too good to turn down if he was given that chance.
“Of course I want to be on that card,” he said.
“It’s a Manchester card. I’m a Mancunian. I’ll say it again – I’m the only Mancunian on the roster, ever. Born and bred. So it would only be right for me to be on there.
“But I think it’s six weeks away. Obviously, I’m in a five-round fight (this weekend). I don’t expect to fight on there, but if we can get through this fight unscathed and with a win, then I’ll definitely be asking the matchmakers to put me on.”
Getting through a fight with Barboza unscathed would be no mean feat. If he can, Murphy would be all set for the perfect homecoming, as the UFC’s newest British ranked contender.
UFC Vegas 92 airs live in the UK on TNT Sports and streams live via Discovery Plus.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@lerone145