Alexander Volkanovski has insisted that Lerone Murphy is a “no-brainer” as his next challenger for the UFC featherweight title, after the Briton’s stunning knockout of Aaron Pico.
In the co-main event of UFC 319 on Saturday (16 August), Murphy finished Pico with a spinning back elbow in the first round, brutally ending the latter’s UFC debut.
Pico, 28, made his name in Bellator and claimed that an emphatic win over the highly-ranked Murphy, 34, might propel him straight into a title fight.
But instead, Murphy strengthened his case to challenge two-time champion Volkanovski next. The Briton’s win over Pico took his UFC record to 9-0-1, dating back to his debut in the promotion in 2019. He is also unbeaten in his overall MMA career at 17-0-1.
“See you in December @LeroneMurphy congrats #ufc319,” Volkanovski wrote on Twitter/X on Saturday, before delving into the matter in greater depth on his YouTube channel.
The Australian, 36, said: “I think it’s a bit of a no-brainer. December’s looking good. There were earlier dates that probably wouldn’t work for guys that are fighting right now anyway, so the later dates were always looking better for me anyway – and for my future potential opponents. So, December’s looking like it could be there.”
Volkanovski also acknowledged the credentials of Movsar Evloev, but noted how the Russian recently withdrew from a planned bout with Pico due to injury.
“A lot of people are going to be like, ‘Movsar should be there,’” Volkanovski said. “I tried. I tried to make that happen. I thought he deserves it, he did deserve it, he had this fight, and then I’m like: ‘Alright, he’s going to have to do this [Pico] fight and then he definitely gets it – and then he pulled out.
“And you know what the UFC is like with things like that […] Maybe it was a serious injury, I’m not sure, I don’t know what it is. Maybe that’s why he can’t fight, I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be Movsar. I’ve tried with all of them, but it looks like it’s Lerone Murphy. It makes a lot of sense, so let’s do Lerone Murphy. December, sounds great.”
Another match-up with the potential to crown a No 1 contender is Jean Silva’s fight with Diego Lopes in September. While Lopes almost certainly wouldn’t gain a title shot with a win, having lost to Volkanovski with the vacant belt on the line in April, Silva might.
“Did I know that the winner of this is going to be fighting for the title?” Volkanovski said of Murphy vs Pico. “No, I don’t. I still don’t have no clear answers. But at least you had Pico saying he thinks he’s going to knock me out and outwrestle me, and obviously I end up saying something back.
“I don’t think he was being disrespectful for that, and I wasn’t being disrespectful. I’m literally just trying to put the feelers out there. Who knows who I’ve got next?
“It could be Lerone Murphy, it could have been Pico, it could [be] Silva if he beats Diego. Movsar, you never know, I don’t know. Or even Yair [Rodriguez]. I’m trying to put the feelers out for whoever it is, so it makes sense.”
Volkanovski first held the featherweight title from late 2019 until early 2024, recording five successful title defences along the way. He then lost the belt with a knockout defeat by Ilia Topuria, who gave up the gold this February to move up to lightweight, where he claimed a second title.
After Topuria vacated the featherweight belt, Volkanovski outpointed Lopes to reclaim the 145lb crown in April.
