Lerone Murphy has hit back at claims he is an underwhelming fighter following his unanimous decision victory over Josh Emmett earlier this month
Lerone Murphy has hit back at critics who have compared his recent performances to Leon Edwards – insisting he would be delighted to endure a UFC career similar to that of the former welterweight champion.
Murphy, 33, was criticised by some quarters of the mixed martial arts community for the nature of his unanimous decision victory [48-47, 48-47 and 49-46] over Josh Emmett in Las Vegas earlier this month.
The Mancunian defeated Emmett with a strategic performance over five rounds at the UFC Apex to climb up to eighth in the featherweight rankings and move within touching distance of a title fight shot.
But Murphy has received considerable backlash for the nature of his performance in his second headline event at the UFC Apex, with fans of the sport disappointed that the Brit didn’t engage with his 40-year-old opponent more often during the 25-minute affair.
As a result, the Manchester Top Team fighter has been compared to fellow Brit and former welterweight champion Edwards for his alleged underwhelming fight style.
Edwards has won just four of his 14 UFC bouts by stoppage and lost the 170-pound title after suffering back-to-back defeats to Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady.
Discussing the backlash in an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Murphy said: “It’s actually crazy! I don’t know. I’m not paying any attention to it. I just know if I keep winning, I’m going to get the title. That’s it, simple.
“I’ve seen people say I’m the featherweight Leon Edwards! If I do what Leon Edwards has done and get the title, I’d be happy with that. It’s not really a diss.
I just know that not everybody knows about fighting. Even the likes of Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Mayweather, people didn’t like their style because they were slick, they didn’t get hit, and they hit people. But they didn’t really finish many fights, so a lot of boxing fans don’t like their style.
“You’ve just got to understand that I’m a product and not everyone is going to like the product. It’s simple.”
Murphy, however, believes that his fight against Emmett would have been perceived differently if it had taken place away from the controversial UFC Apex.
“I think the Apex has its pros and cons. I think if that fight was three rounds in front of a crowd, it would have been a fire fight because when the crowd are behind you, you have to get involved,” explained Murphy.
“I think it creates more passion and drive but with the Apex, it feels like a sparring session in the gym because there is no crowd and you can hear your coaches. You have to lock in a bit more.
“But I want to fight in front of crowds, man. This is what I do it for. I’m fighting at the top, top level in the world and I want to be performing in front of crowds.”
After he was officially confirmed as the eighth-best 145-pound fighter in the UFC last week, Murphy is now eyeing two more fights before the end of 2025.
“It’s been a massive 12 months for me, I’m so grateful to be where I am and had the fights that I’ve had to get the experience that I’ve had. I’ve now had more fights in the UFC than outside the UFC. That’s a crazy stat, right? I’ve had nine fights in the UFC and eight fights outside of the UFC.
“Like I said before, I’ve been learning on the job. It’s been stop-and-start because of things outside my control, so I’m happy to have had three fights within 12 months and I hope to do the same in the next 12 months.
I think the Apex has its pros and cons. I think if that fight was three rounds in front of a crowd, it would have been a fire fight because when the crowd are behind you, you have to get involved. I think it creates more passion and drive but with the Apex it feels like a sparring session in the gym because there is no crowd and you can hear your coaches, you have to lock in a bit more. But I want to fight in front of crowds, man. This is what I do it for. I’m fighting at the top, top level in the world and I want to be performing in front of crowds.
