Lerone Murphy Eyes Calvin Kattar, Josh Emmett for Quick Turnaround at UFC 304

Fresh off the biggest win of his career, Lerone Murphy wants to stay active and carry that momentum forward.

Britain’s Murphy (14-0) outdueled perennial contender Edson Barboza (24-12) in his first UFC headliner at UFC Fight Night 241. With the promotion set to return to Manchester, England, in July after nearly eight years away, an offer for the undefeated featherweight to headline a card just months prior came as bit of a surprise. Murphy revealed that while he was aware of the UFC 304, card for some time, a main event opportunity against a veteran like Barboza was too good to ignore. “The Iceman” made an appearance on "The MMA Hour" on Wednesday, where he described his thought process going into the fight.

“The opportunity they gave me, Edson Barboza, main event, five rounds, how can I say no,” Murphy explained. “I can’t say no to that. That’s a massive opportunity and a massive spotlight. So, for me it was like, yeah, they’re coming to Manchester but this is a bigger opportunity. I’ll take this opportunity and maybe if I’m healthy I’ll still fight in Manchester, but the opportunity was too big to pass up on.”

Other than taking a flush upkick to the face at the end of Round 1, Murphy apparently did not sustain a great deal of damage against the Brazilian striker. Given his nose isn’t broken, the Stockport, Greater Manchester, native would like a quick turnaround at UFC 304, which goes down on July 27 at the Co-op Live arena in his home area of Manchester.

“For me, if the nose isn’t broken, I’m looking to fight,” the Brit said. “Because I feel good, I know the bruising, all the swelling will be gone down in a week. And they’re not gonna put me in main event obviously, so it’ll be a three-rounder. I’m already fit, two weeks of training, I’m not gonna lose anything there. So, I’ll be able to get right back into camp, but we’ll see, I’m not rushing anything. I’ll see how the body is and if it’s a go, it’s a go.”

Having reached the no. 15 spot on Sherdog’s Official Rankings at featherweight with his latest win, Murphy is now eyeing 11th-ranked Calvin Kattar or Josh Emmett at eight next.

“Looking at the rankings now, I feel like the [Calvin] Kattar fight and the [Josh] Emmett fight will be amazing fights. They’ll be good matchups for me to go out there and put another show on. I just want big fights now. My confidence is high and I just want big fights, anybody in the top 10 I’m ready for now. I just wanna keep fighting and keep the momentum going,” Murphy concluded.