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UFC title hopeful dismisses Diego Lopes' case for Alexander Volkanovski rematch

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 10:55 AM ET

Lerone Murphy doesn’t believe that Diego Lopes’ performance at Noche UFC was enough to change the title picture at 145 lbs.

Taking place on the same night as a highly-anticipated boxing match that saw Terence Crawford extend his undefeated record against Canelo Alvarez, the third edition of Noche UFC closed out with a pivotal featherweight main event between former title challenger Lopes and surging contender Jean Silva.

The high-paced bout ended in the second round when Lopes connected with a spinning elbow and swarmed Silva with follow-up strikes, which put the 30-year-old back in the win column after he came up short in a vacant title fight with Alexander Volkanovski in April.

Lerone Murphy Makes Case For UFC Title Shot Over Diego Lopes

Featherweight is currently in an interesting spot with Volkanovski once again atop the division following Ilia Topuria’s move up to lightweight, and #4-ranked contender Murphy believes it’s time for some new blood to challenge for the belt.

Diego done amazing against silva but not much changes in a rematch against volk. The people want to see new match ups. I’m 17-0 for a reason. ITS MY TIME!
— LERONE MURPHY (@LeroneMurphy) September 15, 2025

Undefeated in his professional MMA career, Murphy defeated former interim title challenger Josh Emmett to kick off 2025 before “The Miracle” scored one of the most violent knockouts of the year when he floored former Bellator standout Aaron Pico in Pico’s promotional debut at UFC 319.

Several Options Available For UFC Champion Alexander Volkanovski

Murphy has gone 9-0 in the UFC following a split draw against Zubaira Tkhugov in his first Octagon outing back in 2019, and his knockout-win over Pico was exactly the kind of emphatic result he’s been looking for to garner fan support for a title shot.

While Lopes did represent a new challenge for Volkanovski at UFC 314, “The Great” already bested some of the featherweight division’s biggest names during an initial title run that saw the Australian successfully defend his belt five times. The 36-year-old’s final win during that period was against then-interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez, who is currently the division’s #3-ranked contender.

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Murphy still sits behind both Rodriguez and Lopes in the UFC rankings, but "The Miracle" is one spot ahead of another potential Volkanovski opponent in former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling.

“Funk Master” has campaigned for a featherweight title shot following his win over Brian Ortega, but many fans are hopeful that Sterling’s former foe and current #1-ranked featherweight contender Movsar Evloev may finally get a long-awaited crack at UFC gold next.