5 fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy
The UFC's latest Fight Night event took place last night at the Las Vegas APEX. While the event won't live long in the memory of fans, there were some good performances on offer.
So what's next for the stars of UFC Fight Night: Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy?
With some of these fighters looking to break into title contention following last night's wins, the promotion's matchmakers will definitely have to consider all the options on the table.
Here are five fights to make following UFC Fight Night: Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy.
#5. UFC featherweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Sean Woodson
Edson Barboza was pretty firmly defeated last night, suffering a five-round decision loss to unbeaten prospect Lerone Murphy. The fight was one of the only times 'Junior' had ever been outstruck in his near 14-year UFC career. While it will probably lead Murphy onto bigger things, it could mark the end of the Brazilian's time as a title contender.
It might be an idea, then, to transition him into the role of a gatekeeper. Therefore, for his next fight, a rising prospect would be the best opponent for him. One idea could be Sean Woodson. 'The Sniper' has gone unbeaten in his last six bouts, beat a tough veteran in Alex Caceres this month, and has the length and range to be tricky for anyone to face.
If Barboza could get to grips with Woodson's size, it'd make for a fascinating fight to watch, and if 'The Sniper' could get past him, then he'd be viewed as a contender, too. Despite the UFC not really liking matching a fighter coming off a win with one coming off a loss, this bout would make a lot of logical sense.
#4. UFC strawweight bout: Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci
Angela Hill not only picked up the first submission win of her octagon career last night, but she broke a UFC record, too. 'Overkill' scored her 11th win when she beat Luana Pinheiro, giving her the most strawweight victories in the promotion's history.
Given that the win could move the veteran back into the top ten, matching her next ought to be easy. However, there's an issue, and that's the fact that she's fought almost everyone in the division already. One fresh opponent, though, could be Tabatha Ricci. 'Baby Shark' moved into the top fifteen in her own right last weekend by beating Tecia Pennington, and she's now 5-1 at 115 pounds.
If Ricci could overcome Hill, then big fights would definitely lie in her future, while a win for 'Overkill' would continue a surprising resurgence. It could even earn her a rematch with a higher-ranked foe who has already beaten her - making it a viable fight overall.
#3. UFC bantamweight bout: Adrian Yanez vs. Cody Garbrandt
Adrian Yanez rebounded from his bad 2023 in style last night. The bantamweight prospect dispatched Vinicius Salvador via TKO in the first round, erasing the memory of his losses to Rob Font and Jonathan Martinez.
The Texan wasn't perfect, as he absorbed a lot of shots from Salvador before catching him cold, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. Yanez perhaps isn't ready for a top-15 opponent again, but he has earned a big-name foe. Therefore, a fun fight for him could be with former UFC titleholder Cody Garbrandt.
'No Love' saw his own resurgence stopped at the hands of Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300, but before that, he'd won two straight.
More to the point, though, like Yanez, he's somewhat limited, being phenomenal on offense but much less so on defense. Essentially, matching these two would guarantee fireworks, and the promotion could even look to headline a Fight Night card with the bout.
#2. UFC welterweight bout: Khaos Williams vs. Uros Medic
While Khaos Williams doesn't look like a welterweight title contender in the making, last night showed his usefulness to the UFC once again. Essentially, 'The Ox Fighter' almost guarantees serious violence, win or lose, every time he fights.
Last night saw him win, as he switched out the lights on Carlston Harris early in their fight. On a different night, of course, he may well have been caught first and lost. It's the nature of the beast.
It's important, then, that the promotion matches him carefully next time out. Basically, there's no point in putting him in with a foe who's going to pick him apart or look to submit him. Instead, they should just throw him in with someone willing to trade.
A perfect match, therefore, could be Uros Medic. 'The Doctor' has never gone the distance in his six-fight octagon career, knocking out four opponents and being submitted twice.
Would Medic be willing to trade with Williams? On the face of it, trading with someone as powerful as 'The Ox Fighter' sounds like insanity, but it's almost certain that 'The Doctor' would do so.
Therefore, the promotion ought to match these two wildmen up, and stand back and watch the crazy brawl that would undoubtedly follow.
#1. UFC featherweight bout: Lerone Murphy vs. Josh Emmett
The biggest winner at last night's show was undoubtedly Lerone Murphy. The Manchester-based featherweight picked apart Edson Barboza for five rounds, earning the biggest win of his UFC career.
'The Miracle' is now likely to break into the top fifteen - if not the top ten - at 145 pounds. So who should he face next?
Probably the best possible foe for him right now would be Josh Emmett. The former interim title challenger was last seen stopping Bryce Mitchell in devastating fashion and currently sits at No.7 in the division.
Emmett would provide Murphy with a very different puzzle to Barboza. Where the Brazilian is a renowned technical kickboxer, Emmett is all power punches, and if he could land on 'The Miracle' he could definitely knock him out.
Based on last night, though, actually doing that isn't exactly easy. If 'The Miracle' could pick Emmett off in the same way that he did to Barboza, then, he probably wouldn't be too far away from a title shot.
This bout could easily headline a Fight Night event, and it's one that the matchmakers ought to look to put together in the near future.