Lerone Murphy’s title hopes take huge hit after controversial defeat at UFC London

Manchester fighter Lerone Murphy saw his hopes of a title shot go up in smoke as he was edged out by Movsar Evloev in a controversial decision at UFC London . Murphy succumbed to a majority decision defeat despite his Russian opponent having a point deducted in the fourth round for a second low blow, with the judges scoring the bout 48-46, 48-46, 47-47 in Evloev’s favour. Coming up short in what was seen as an eliminator to decide featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski ’s next challenger, “The Miracle” also lost his undefeated record in the process and leaves the O2 Arena now 17-1-1 as a professional.

Murphy, 34, took a moment to get going in a close first round but began to really find his rhythm in the next two, with his movement and sharp striking starving 32-year-old Evloev from obvious takedown opportunities. Lerone Murphy suffered a contentious decision loss at UFC London (Action Images via Reuters) It meant Evloev, who was firing striking offence of his own, barely shot for a takedown in the first 10 minutes and even when the Russian eventually took Murphy to the mat in the third, the Briton showed off impressive defence to quickly get back to his feet. As the fight entered the championship rounds with Murphy in control, Evloev was deducted a point after falling foul of his second low blow of the night, which left Murphy crawling in agony.

This appeared to vastly diminish Evloev’s chances of victory without a finish but he nevertheless ended the bout in style, dominantly taking the final two rounds to force the fight to a decision. All three judges contentiously scored the third round in Evloev’s favour while two gave the Russian the first round, delivering him a crucial victory. Murphy was gracious in defeat and called on matchmakers to ensure Evloev gets what is due to him, saying: “Make sure Movsar gets the title shot, he deserves it.

” Murphy has backed Movsar Evloev to get the next title shot (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire) In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett’s teammate Luke Riley went 2-0 in the UFC as he swept the scorecards against Michael Aswell Jr, finally getting a victory on the board for the Liverpudlians after Kurtis Campbell was knocked out by Danny Silva in the main card’s opener. Riley had spoken honestly about whether he deserved the headliner spot ahead of Michael “Venom” Page but the 38-year-old veteran’s bout with Sam Patterson failed to deliver, with fans raining down boos as Page was declared the winner after both fighters failed to show much activity. Luke Riley (left) during his points win over Michael Aswell Jr (Getty Images) Christian Leroy Duncan, meanwhile, will hope to enter the middleweight rankings after overcoming Roman Dolidze after an impressive performance, while Polish light heavyweight Iwo Baraniewski pulled off a stunning 28-second knockout over Austen Lane to maintain momentum.