Edson Barboza has just gotten himself locked into another UFC main event, only this time he’s going to be squaring off against Lerone Murphy. The two are going to be stepping into the Octagon against one another on May 18th over in Las Vegas.
Barboza hasn’t fought since he went against Sodiq Yusuff in October 2023. He didn’t start that fight verry well at all but kept his composure and rallied to win that via decision at the end. Meanwhile, Murphy has only fought two times since 2021. The 14th ranked fighter picked up a decision win of his own in his previous fight against Joshua Culibao in July 2023. Murphy was scheduled to fight Dan Ige in a co-main event in February but had to withdraw due to injury.
Murphy had been outspoken about getting an opportunity to fight against someone from the top 10. Barboza might be ranked 11th, but he’s certainly somebody that Murphy wanted to take on, especially because it could help him move up. Barboza has been around for some time now and his fighting style could prove to be difficult for Murphy. There’s no question that he wants to remind Murphy that he should be careful what he wishes for.
Edson Barboza Is Ready For Lerone Murphy
Overall, Barboza is 24-11 throughout his UFC career, with his last loss coming in 2022 against Bryce Mitchell. He’s racked up 15 career finishes and is one of the few fighters to have multiple recorded finishes from leg kicks. It’s something that Murphy should be looking out for in this bout. Murphy on the other hand is 13-0-1 in his five-year career so far.
He’s battled numerous career injuries which has really held him back, but most of that can boil down to some bad luck. This could be the fight to keep him on an upward trajectory. Up until now, the only time he’s not won a fight came against Zubaira Tukhugov in 2019, a fight that ended in a draw that wound up being disp
