Evloev Stays Perfect and Eyes Volkanovski Title Shot After Gutting Out Majority Decision Over Murphy at UFC London

Posted : 22 March 2026

Movsar Evloev silenced a hostile London crowd on Saturday night to remain undefeated and plant his flag firmly at the front of the featherweight title queue. The Russian beat Manchester native Lerone Murphy by majority decision at the O2 Arena, with two judges scoring the contest 48-46 in his favour and the third seeing it as a 47-47 draw.

The bout carried a combined undefeated record of 36-0-1 between both fighters; the largest such total for any matchup in UFC history. That historic backdrop made every moment feel consequential, and the fight delivered accordingly.

Murphy started the sharper of the two. He used crisp right hands and disciplined defensive work on the ground to keep Evloev at bay through the first two rounds, feeding off the partisan home crowd and exposing Evloev's early reluctance to shoot for takedowns. Evloev clawed his way back into the fight in the third, but the contest took a pivotal turn in round four. Referee Marc Goddard deducted a point from Evloev for a second low blow, ruling that Murphy had not moved into the kick. The deduction suddenly threatened to hand Murphy the decision.

Evloev responded with urgency. He dominated the grappling in the final two rounds, finishing with a 124-89 advantage in total strikes and completing nine of his ten takedown attempts. Murphy, who told his corner after round three that his hip had "popped", showed enormous heart but could not prevent Evloev from seizing control on the mat.

After the final horn, Murphy lay on the canvas clutching his hip. Despite the loss, he backed his opponent's title case directly: "Make sure Movsar Evloev gets the title shot. That man deserves it; he's next in line."

Evloev was equally direct, stating that champion Alexander Volkanovski had already called his name and that the UFC had run out of reasons to delay the bout: "UFC, there is no excuses to not let me fight for the title."

Elsewhere on the card, Michael "Venom" Page earned a unanimous decision win over Sam Patterson to extend his winning streak to three fights, while Iwo Baraniewski needed just 28 seconds to finish Austen Lane by TKO in their light heavyweight contest.

Evloev Stays Perfect and Eyes Volkanovski Title Shot After Gutting Out Majority Decision Over Murphy at UFC London

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