Who is Lerone Murphy, the fighter taking on Gabriel Santos at UFC 286

Lerone Murphy is an unbeaten UFC featherweight born in England.

After going 4-0 as an amateur, Murphy made his professional MMA debut in March 2016 under the Full Contact Contender banner. ‘The Miracle’ won by unanimous decision, creating confidence for his world championship dreams. He won his next seven bouts on the regional scene, including five inside the distance.

Murphy signed with the UFC in 2019 with an 8-0 record. The English-born fighter made his promotional debut at UFC 242, which ended in a split-decision draw against Zubaira Tukhugov. Since then, ‘The Miracle’ has remained unbeaten with three UFC wins against Ricardo Ramos, Douglas Silva de Andrade, and Makwan Amirkhani.

The 31-year-old last fought in October 2021, defeating Amirkhani by a second-round knockout. Murphy has solidified himself as a legitimate featherweight prospect, leading to his fifth UFC fight against promotional newcomer Gabriel Santos at UFC 286.

On March 18, the UFC takes a trip to the O2 Arena in London, England, for UFC 286. In the main event, Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman meet in a rubber match for the welterweight world champion. Before the highly-anticipated trilogy fight plays out, the preliminary card features several fighters competing in front of their hometown crowd, including Jake Hadley, Christian Leroy Duncan, Jai Herbert, and Murphy.

Watch Lerone Murphy's last win against Makwan Amirkhani below:

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What’s at stake between Lerone Murphy and Gabriel Santos?

Lerone Murphy and Gabriel Santos are at different points in their UFC tenure, but each is looking for validation at UFC 286. Santos is an undefeated prospect with five wins inside the distance. With that said, ‘Mosquitinho’ hasn’t fought anyone on Murphy’s level, leaving questions about how he will fare in the UFC.

Meanwhile, Murphy must prove he’s ready for the next step in the UFC featherweight division. ‘The Miracle’ has remained unbeaten, but he hasn’t cracked the 145-pound rankings. Although a win against Santos might not warrant a ranking, the 31-year-old can show he’s levels above the other unranked fighters.

There are nine other matchups alongside Murphy vs. Santos on the UFC 286 preliminary card. Some prelim fights to watch are Jake Hadley vs. Malcolm Gordon, Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Dusko Todorovic, and Chris Duncan vs. Omar Morales.