Lerone Murphy is set to introduce Aaron Pico to the UFC this weekend on the co-main event of UFC 319, as the Englishman looks to make a huge statement at Featherweight and propel his name into the title picture. Murphy sports an impressive record of 16-0-1 in his MMA career with some highly impressive wins in the UFC, but a win against Pico at UFC 319 will be the biggest result of his career and potentially put his name at the top of the list for contenders seeking Alexander Volkanovski’s Featherweight crown.
Despite Murphy’s credentials in the UFC, he goes into this fight as the betting underdog. Speaking to Card Player, Murphy said, “I prefer to be an underdog, to be honest. With pressure, you don’t perform as well, I believe. When I go in there, and I just think it is what it is, I’m a fighter anyway. I’m never going to go in there and just mess about. But I’m going to be focused on that night and put the pressure on, and I believe I do my best work with no pressure… I’m less hesitant, and I let it all go, and that’s what you’re going to see.”
It is surprising to some degree that Murphy goes into this one as an underdog. Murphy has shown that he is well-deserving of his number six ranking in the UFC. His last three wins have come against Josh Emmett, Dan Ige and Edson Barboza. As Murphy has moved up the rankings, he has preferred a more cautious approach, opting to out-point his opponents on the feet with his very technically sound striking. His last four wins have all come via unanimous decision. He has also shown good cardio and conditioning and the ability to recover from big shots, as shown by his recovery against Ige when he was knocked down.
Aaron Pico is stepping into the world of the unknown, as so many highly-rated fighters from outside the UFC do. Pico has fought his whole career in Bellator and has a record of 13-4, with nine of those wins coming by way of KO/TKO. He has also displayed a high level of wrestling in his career. It will be interesting to see how Pico utilises his well-rounded MMA game against Murphy. He does undoubtedly have KO power, but getting to Murphy’s chin will be a tough task, so expect him to try to mix in the grappling as well.
It is an intriguing matchup for sure, and with this fight being the Co-main event of Dricus Du Plessis’ and Khamzat Chimaev’s title fight, it is a huge opportunity for both fighters to put their name on the Featherweight map.
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