This afternoon we learned of a fun UFC main event that’s being planned for The APEX. Laerte Viana on X was the first to report that top fifteen featherweight contenders Edson Barboza (24-11) and Lerone Murphy (13-0-1) will battle it out over five rounds.
The UFC Fight Night goes down on May 18th. Starting with the unbeaten Murphy, this headliner against Barboza marks a big jump in competition and his first exposure to the main event scene. He made his debut back in 2019 and in his first fight, he fought to a draw.
However, since then, he’s been perfect inside the octagon and he’s looked sensational. He’s won five straight and has two knockouts during that stretch. As of now, he’s currently ranked 14th in the featherweight division and has the opportunity to jump into the UFC’s top ten with a win in May.
UFC Fight Night
Prior to UFC Kansas City last April, Edson Barboza joked that he’s becoming king of the co-main event. After knocking out Billy Quarantillo in their fight in April, he was given a main event against Sodiq Yusuff in October. In that fight, he was utterly dominated in the first round of their fight.
However, he was able to survive and then he rallied from that first round and dominated the rest of the fight winning a unanimous decision. With these back-to-back wins, Barboza finds himself knocking on the door of the UFC’s top ten at 145 pounds. He’s still one of the most feared strikers in the featherweight division and he can certainly make some noise should he get the win in May.
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