Both Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy are undefeated after seven years on the UFC roster, running up impressive win streaks that pushed them into the title mix. Both have reasonable arguments for the next title shot versus Featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski, yet only one will walk away from The 02 Arena with their “0” intact.
The buildup to this matchup isn’t just based on their similar records and win streaks. Back in November, Murphy posted a mysterious picture of a fighter that surely looked like Evloev crumbled on the floor alongside the caption, “He ain’t undefeated.” The post has since been deleted, but UFC took the time to bring it back up and present the evidence to the pair of Featherweight contenders.
While Murphy was sheepish in the face of his own posting, Evloev was unbothered and admitted that he did in fact get dropped by a liver shot when they sparred eight years ago. Now, he’s looking forward to the chance to pay Murphy back for the nearly decade-old knockdown.
“Honestly, I didn’t know until he posted that screenshot,” Evloev explained. “I didn’t even know it was him. It was eight years ago in a sparring session when I was in Thailand. One guy — as it turns out, Lerone Murphy — he took a moment and landed a shot to my liver. Such situations happen. I’m even glad he posted it because I didn’t know it was him, [but] now I know who to settle it with.”
It’s a bit of a low blow to post old sparring clips, but then, both Murphy and Evloev need the push if they’re to finally score a UFC title shot. What say you, Maniacs: will Evloev earn his revenge on Saturday?
