Evloev edges Murphy to set up UFC featherweight title shot

22 Mar 2026, 00:32 · CNA · Join

Mixed Martial Arts - UFC Fight Night - London - Movsar Evloev v Lerone Murphy - O2 Arena, London, Britain - March 21, 2026 Lerone Murphy embraces Movsar Evloev after their fight Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Mixed Martial Arts - UFC Fight Night - London - Movsar Evloev v Lerone Murphy - O2 Arena, London, Britain - March 21, 2026 Lerone Murphy reacts after his fight against Movsar Evloev Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

LONDON, March 21 : Russia's Movsar Evloev overcame a point deduction for a foul to edge a majority decision win over Lerone Murphy at Saturday's UFC fight at the O2 Arena, likely punching his ticket to a title fight against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in his next bout.

With the two fighters putting their undefeated records on the line to decide who will face the 37-year-old Australian Volkanovski for the belt, the bout turned into an intriguing clash of styles.

Evloev, who is known for his wrestling, tried to showcase his striking while Murphy displayed some superb defensive work on the ground.

Murphy evaded the fearsome grappling attack of his Russian opponent for the first two rounds of the five-round bout, using a selection of stiff right hands to keep him at bay, and Evloev took the chance to exhibit some of the dangerous spinning strikes he has added to his repertoire since his last fight in December 2024.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

Evloev finally managed to take the fight to the mat early in the third round but Murphy was quickly back to his feet, uncorking a spinning back kick of his own shortly afterwards.

However, it was his opponent who finished the frame strongest with a big overhand right, followed up by a flurry of strikes.

His momentum was derailed somewhat when he landed a second kick to Murphy's groin early in the fourth round, and referee Marc Goddard deducted a point from Evloev for the foul.

Knowing that the deduction could be decisive if the fight went to the judges' scorecards, Evloev turned up his energy-sapping grappling attack in the fifth and final frame as he chased a finish, but again Murphy was able to get back to his feet with relative ease.

Despite not really threatening to submit his opponent on the ground, it proved to be enough for the 32-year-old Evloev, with two of the judges scoring the fight 48-46 in his favour and the third scoring it a draw 47-47 after the point deduction was taken into account.

Evloev edges Murphy to set up UFC featherweight title shot

Recommended Read

Sign up for our newsletters

Get the CNA app