I’m ready to fight for the title, says Brit Lerone Murphy after UFC’s biggest win guarantees her a place in the rankings

LERONE MURPHY feels prepared and ready to race towards the featherweight title.

Undefeated Manchester Mauler scored the biggest win of his career in May in the main event of UFC Vegas 92.

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Murphy, 32, dominated ferocious kicker Edson Barboza for five straight rounds to score a decision win in the biggest spot of his MMA career and break into the 145-pound rankings.

Murphy was ice-cold, calm and collected as he put on a clinic against fan favorite Barboza, but there was a brief moment when the magnitude of the occasion – and the opponent – got to him.

He told SunSport: “When he first stepped into the cage, [holy s**t] It was a little moment I had.

“But other than that, it was like, ‘Boom, call. It’s just another fight.’ And I concentrated then.

“I felt like I enjoyed seeing him coming into the cage and thinking, ‘Yes, this is Edson Barboza.’”

The reality that he could become the latest addition to Barboza’s incredible highlight reel caused Murphy to spring into action like he never has before.

“I called then,” he continued. “And I probably haven’t been this turned on in a while.”

“I knew the danger I was in and that’s what made me act.”

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Murphy’s entry into the rankings raises the possibility of several mouth-watering clashes, a fact of which he is well aware.

But despite being on track for a title shot, he refuses to label himself as a true contender.

“To me, it’s just numbers,” Murphy said of his position in the rankings. “They’re going to chop and change all the time.

“For me, it’s all about the title and getting into title contention. And I feel like when you get into the top five, that’s when you’re a real contender.

“Obviously, I’m grateful and I know it’s a milestone, like you said, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

UK MMA fans were hoping that Murphy – who survived a gunshot to the face 11 years ago – would avoid injury and earn a place in the UFC’s return to Manchester on July 27.

The card, however, is completely full – meaning he will have to watch from the sidelines, as he did in 2016.

Not competing at UFC 304 will give Murphy enough time to rest and recover from whoever the promotion throws at him.

“I feel like they all excite me,” Murphy said of the featherweights ranked ahead of him. “Because everyone that’s in the top ten, I’ve been watching these guys for years.

“These guys are all big names, every one of them is a big name.

“That’s why the UFC is probably happy with the win.

“Now these are new fights because I haven’t fought anyone in the top ten.

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“It’s exciting times and I feel like they’re all good matchups.”

Having watched the elder statesmen of the featherweight division do their thing for several years, Murphy has two names in particular he hopes to topple. next.

He said: “I’ve been looking at the names and I feel like a good match for me would be Josh Emmett, maybe, or Calvin Kattar.

“There are a lot of fighters there [I’d like to fight] and I feel like all fights are good fights.

“But in terms of styles, styles if you will, these types of fights will get the best of me.”

Despite currently being ranked 11th, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Murphy will find himself fighting for UFC gold in the next six to eight months – provided he can land some impressive finishes.

That fact didn’t go unnoticed by the Manchester Top Team star, who said: “I feel like it’s based on performance.

“Say you go out there and you have a crazy performance or a crazy finish and everyone is talking about you, the UFC is going to catapult you right into that position.

“They are always looking for new candidates. [Brian] Ortega has already fought for the belt a few times, Yair [Rodriguez] – they want new guys there.

“So let’s try to put in a big performance, a big win and see what happens.”

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