Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy squared off in a Featherweight bout earlier tonight (Sat., March 21, 2026) at UFC London inside The 02 Arena in London, England. After a competitive five rounds, Evloev earned the majority decision.
Murphy opened the fight with lateral movement as both men worked to find their range. In the early exchanges, Evloev looked to land wide overhand swings, while Murphy hunted the body and timed straight right hands upstairs. Evloev threw a lot of kicks, but surprisingly,
he didn’t attempt a single takedown attempt in the entire round! On the whole, it was a very competitive opening frame in which neither man landed anything devastating while settling into the 25-minute contest.
The pace picked up a bit early in the second, and Murphy found a couple right hand connections. The English standout seemed to be finding his timing, landing counter punches and kicks at a better rate. Evloev continued to move forward, trying to hide big swings behind takedown feints and body shots … but no actual takedown attempts? Murphy continued to build steam throughout the round, finding holes in Evloev’s defense with his wide array of weapons. Evloev did land some good kicks to the body, but the majority of his punches were missing or blocked.
Evloev pressured early in the third, swinging in combination for the first time in the fight. Murphy fired right back and ripped a heavy knee, resulting in the fire Evloev takedown of the fight! The Russian couldn’t keep his man down for long, however. Back on the feet, Murphy worked behind long straight punches and landed a spin kick. Murphy worked the mid-section with a nasty left kick and some right hands. Evloev faked a kick and landed a nice right hand, then he finished the round with a nice flurry along the fence.
Heading into the championship rounds, Murphy was doing the better work.
A heavy low blow from Evloev stalled round four before it even got kicking — and it cost Evloev a point! Evloev returned to action with urgency, landing a big right hand and a brief takedown. Back on the feet, Evloev continued to press behind the right to good results, while Murphy tried to load up on counter punches to his own detriment. Evloev blasted Murphy off his feet with a big double leg, but again, he struggled to keep Murphy pinned down for long. Murphy slipped off his feet throwing a high kick and gave up top position once again. Was “The Miracle” fading a bit? He still managed to scramble up quickly, but this was the strongest Evloev round yet … aside from that pesky point deduction.
Murphy confessed to his corner between rounds that he suffered a hip injury in the fourth, but the fight continued on regardless. Both men throw in combination to start the fifth, then Evloev landed an easy takedown. He was able to settle into top control this time, and Evloev advanced into mount! Murphy recovered position and worked to stand, getting mat returned a couple times before regaining kickboxing distance. Murphy’s movement was labored, but he landed a big left. Murphy tried to land his spinning elbow and gave up his back in the process, getting tossed again then taken down along the fence.
After the final bell, Murphy was clearly in a lot of pain from his injured hip.
There’s no doubt that Murphy started stronger while Evloev clearly captured the final two rounds. The reasonable scorecards were a Murphy decision or draw … but somehow two of the three London judges scored the decision for Evloev outright? Which means that two of the judges gave Evloev four of the five rounds? Those are baffling scorecards, and one wonders if that’ll be enough to earn him the title shot rather than Jean Silva.
Result: Evloev defeats Murphy via majority decision
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