Lerone Murphy: Lerone Murphy channels inner Muhammad Ali as he hits back at critics post UFC Vegas 105: "Why would I stay in the pocket with a power puncher?"

Lerone Murphy channels inner Muhammad Ali as he hits back at critics post UFC Vegas 105: "Why would I stay in the pocket with a power puncher?"

By Dabeer Shah

Modified Apr 06, 2025 20:40 GMT

UFC Fight Night: Emmett v Murphy - Source: Getty — Lerone Murphy defeated Josh Emmett at UFC Vegas 105 [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

UFC featherweight contender Lerone Murphy defeated Josh Emmett in the main event of UFC Vegas 105. After his fight, Murphy hit back at his critics who labeled his style as boring.

Murphy avoided Emmett's power and used his reach to hit the American from the outside. Although Emmett landed takedowns, Murphy's volume of strikes proved to be the deciding factor in the judges scorecards.

Murphy quoted Muhammad Ali's famous one-liner in a post on X as he reviewed his performance. He wrote:

"Clinic! Real MMA fans will appreciate the technicality of that fight. That’s fight IQ. Punishing elbows in close, body kicks, neat footwork. Had him hurt a few times. Why would I stay in the pocket with a power puncher. Float like a butterfly sting like a bee baby."

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Check out Lerone Murphy's post below:

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Murphy made his UFC debut in 2019 against Zubaira Tukhugov, which ended in a draw. Since then, he has been on an eight-fight win streak.

Lerone Murphy wants to follow Ilia Topuria's footsteps

Ahead of UFC Vegas 105, Lerone Murphy expressed his desire to fight for the featherweight title with a win over Emmett.

'The Miracle' wants to follow the footsteps of former champion Ilia Topuria, who also got a title shot after beating Emmett.

Murphy is eyeing a clash with the winner of the 145-pound title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes at UFC 314. Ahead of his bout with Emmett, the 33-year-old said:

"Ilia Topuria went on to fight for the title after Josh Emmett. For me, this is the No. 1 contender fight. Behind Lopes and Volkanovksi who are fighting the week after, I think this is the best fight in the division.I'm always gonna be me. I'm never gonna be fake. I could be fake and be an actor, but I'm always gonna stick to what feels good for me. I'm just gonna let my fighting do the talking. Keep stacking up wins and surely after a bit, everyone would get behind me."

Check out Lerone Murphy's comments below:

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About the author

A B. Tech in electrical engineering, Dabeer began his professional career in 2022 with Vairuhl LLC. Dabeer turned into an MMA fan after watching Nick Diaz’s one-round barnburner with Paul Daley in Strikeforce in 2011. His favorite fighter is Tony Ferguson, whom Dabeer loves for his skills and personality. However, ‘El Cucuy’ does not figure in his top-five MMA fighters of all time, with Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Khabib Nurmagomedov making that list.
Dabeer is of the opinion that MMA has supplanted boxing as the world’s premier combat sport, though he feels that UFC fighters in general are underpaid. This diehard MMA fan also believes that titles should not change hands by disqualification.
Someone who keeps himself immersed in the sport at all times, Dabeer likes to use his knowledge and writing skills to create accurate and relevant information that provides value to the readers. His hobbies are playing football and reading books.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi