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Movsar Evloev admits Lerone Murphy dropped him in sparring 8 years before UFC London clash

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Jordan Ellis | Last updated Mar 19, 2026 5:07 PM ET

UFC London will be headlined by a featherweight fight with title implications.

Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy will battle for the chance to face 145lb king Alexander Volkanovski later this year.

They’ll also be scrapping to settle an old score from their days as sparring partners.

When Lerone Murphy dropped Movsar Evloev with a body shot

Movsar Evloev called out Lerone Murphy after Diego Lopes was granted a title shot in November.

The British fan favorite didn’t take kindly to being called ‘Leon’ during Evloev’s otherwise respectful fight challenge.

“Since the guy wants to be disrespectful, I shall share some content with you guys. Never forget,” Murphy tweeted alongside two incredibly blurry gym photos of someone on the floor.

“He ain’t undefeated,” the UFC London star added to suggest the fallen fighter was Evloev.

”He ain’t undefeated” #UFCLondon @MovsarUFC and @LeroneMurphy talk about that sparring session pic.twitter.com/KuZZMDoOuj
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) March 19, 2026

Both men were asked about the photo during a pre-fight interview with UFC Europe.

Murphy played dumb, but Evloev was open and honest about their sparring session in Thailand.

“Honestly, until he posted that screenshot, I didn’t even know that it was him,” he said.

“It was eight years ago in a sparring session when I was in Thailand. One guy, as it turns out, it was Murphy, he took a moment and landed a shot to my liver. Such situations happen.

“I’m even glad he posted it because I didn’t know it was him. Now I know who to settle it with.”

Who else is fighting at UFC London?

Thirteen fights will take place before the UFC London main event between Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy.

One of Paddy Pimblett’s teammates, Luke Riley, is set to co-headline the card, even though he is just 1-0 inside the Octagon.

UK MMA veterans Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Nathaniel Wood, and Christian Leroy Duncan will also feature.

See below for all 14 fights set to take place at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night.

Main card
Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy
Luke Riley vs. Michael Aswell
Michael Page vs. Sam Patterson
Iwo Baraniewski vs. Austen Lane
Roman Dolidze vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
Kurtis Campbell vs. Danny Silva

Preliminary Card
Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola
Nathaniel Wood vs. Losene Keita
Mário Pinto vs. Felipe Franco
Mantas Kondratavičius vs. Antonio Trócoli
Louie Sutherland vs. Brando Peričić
Shaqueme Rock vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady
Shanelle Dyer vs. Ravena Oliveira
Melissa Mullins vs. Luana Carolina