5 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy

The UFC was back in the Las Vegas APEX last night for another Fight Night event. Overall, this one didn't have much hype around it. In the end, UFC Fight Night: Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy was a largely forgettable event, despite a couple of high points.

However, with a handful of talking points, it's still worth discussing this show. Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy.

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#5. Ode Osbourne rescued his UFC career with his first win in two years

One fighter who would've been under a lot of pressure last night was Ode Osbourne. The flyweight had lost his last three bouts in a row and hadn't won since February 2023.

Faced with debutant Luis Gurule, had Osbourne lost, his UFC career likely would've been over after five years. However, 'The Jamaican Sensation' instead produced probably the best showing of his octagon career, coming from behind to win in style.

Early on it looked like he was in trouble. Gurule slammed him to the ground and took a dominant position, looking to finish the veteran. Osbourne stayed calm, though, and survived the round well. In the second round, he made the debutant pay.

'The Jamaican Sensation' had already begun to let his hands go when he leveled Gurule with a picture-perfect left hand. The fight probably should've been stopped there, but Osbourne had to land some follow-up strikes to seal the deal.

The win not only saved Osbourne's octagon career but won him his first $50k bonus since 2022, making it a great night for him.

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#4. Torrez Finney sets an unfortunate UFC record in debut win

2024 saw unbeaten prospect Torrez Finney hit the news when it took him two wins on Dana White's Contender Series to earn a UFC contract.

Despite having a lot of hype behind him, 'The Punisher' didn't impress White enough the first time around and had to score a KO a few months later to claim his roster spot. While some fans felt this was unfair, Finney's octagon debut win last night hinted at why White may have had a point.

'The Punisher' beat opponent Robert Valentin with relative ease, despite judge Tony Weeks throwing up a curious 30-27 scorecard for the latter.

Perhaps Weeks was simply counting strikes. Finney scored a huge number of takedowns - eight in total - and controlled Valentin for over 13 minutes of the 15-minute bout. However, he landed just four significant strikes throughout the clash, compared to 23 for Valentin.

There was no way Valentin won the fight, of course. Despite that, the bout still made for a frustrating watch and meant that Finney set a UFC record for the lowest number of strikes landed in a decision win.

Overall, then, 'The Punisher' remains undefeated, but if he wants to become a star, he needs to do far better than this.

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#3. Brad Tavares shows the power of longevity to tie a UFC record

Most longtime UFC fans would probably not get behind a campaign to place middleweight veteran Brad Tavares in the promotion's Hall of Fame when his career ends.

The Hawaiian has never really been in title contention despite hanging around the top fifteen at times, he's never beaten a true elite-level opponent, and he has suffered ten defeats in the octagon.

However, Tavares does have one huge positive, and that's his insane longevity. Part of the roster since 2010, the Hawaiian defeated Gerald Meerschaert last night to pick up his 16th octagon win - tying Michael Bisping's record for the most wins as a middleweight.

Based on what we saw last night, there's no reason why Tavares can't break Bisping's record, too. He beat a tricky foe, keeping the fight on the feet and picking him apart with few problems over three rounds.

Considering his long run in the octagon, Tavares' durability is a marvel. He's still only been stopped on five occasions and doesn't look much worse than he did in his prime.

The Hawaiian will never be the most exciting fighter to watch, but it's likely he'll still be around for some time.

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#2. Pat Sabatini is a dark horse at 145 pounds and needs a step up

One of last night's most impressive showings came in the co-headliner. Featherweight prospect Joanderson Brito had garnered some hype coming into last night thanks to some thrilling and explosive wins in his UFC career.

However, 'Tubarao' had nothing for Pat Sabatini last night. The grappler took Brito down in all three rounds and controlled him for nearly 14 minutes. While he didn't come close with any submissions, Sabatini was nothing but dominant throughout.

The win took his overall record to an impressive 20-5, with seven of those wins coming in the octagon. More to the point, though, this was a sign that Sabatini probably needs a step up in competition.

He's only lost twice in the octagon, with one of those defeats coming to next week's title challenger Diego Lopes, and the other to a low-percentage shot from Damon Jackson.

Outside of that, he's outgrappled everyone he's faced. Will that approach work against a ranked opponent? It's honestly time to find out. At this stage, Sabatini has more than earned the opportunity.

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#1. Lerone Murphy remains unbeaten but still needs a signature win

The biggest winner overall last night was undoubtedly Lerone Murphy. The featherweight contender extended his record to 16-0-1 by outpointing veteran Josh Emmett in the event's headliner.

Despite giving up a handful of takedowns to Emmett, 'The Miracle' never really appeared to be in danger. He largely picked apart his foe with his excellent technical striking and avoided any of the concussive blows Emmett threw his way.

Given that Emmett was ranked at No.8 coming into the fight, Murphy will likely climb the ladder again next week.

However, it's also fair to suggest that the native of Manchester is probably still looking for a true signature win.

He didn't really come close to finishing Emmett last night despite his dominance, and the same could be said for his other big wins over Dan Ige and Edson Barboza.

It's worth noting, though, that all three of those men are remarkably durable, with just five KO or TKO losses between them.

Despite that, it's likely that to be considered a true title contender, 'The Miracle' will need to score his first finish since his 2021 knockout of Makwan Amirkhani. More than anything else, he needs smart matchmaking, rather than a step up in his next fight.