Lerone Murphy
Lerone Murphy (born July 22, 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background. Murphy, born and raised in Old Trafford, went to St Edward's Primary School in Rusholme and St Anne's High Catholic High School in Heaton Chapel, Stockport. He had been a promising footballer, who went on trials for Liverpool and had trained with both Stockport County and FC United as a teenager, until at the age of 16 he suffered a serious knee injury that prematurely ended his football dreams. Being the nephew  of Manchester boxing trainer, the late Oliver Harrison, who had trained the likes of Amir Khan and Rocky Fielding, Murphy had done some boxing training, but started his MMA training when he walked into the All Powers gym. On Saturday May 25, 2013, Lerone having just left a barber shop on Lloyd Street South in the Manchester suburb of Fallowfield, was shot by a gunman. Lerone was hit by three bullets, being hit on the face and neck twice. Due to the injuries, Murphy had to get a set of prosthetic teeth and has a tiny shard of bullet, permanently  embedded in his tongue. Mixed martial arts career. Early career. Making his MMA debut at FCC 15, he faced Martin Fouda and went on to defeat him via unanimous decision. Murphy would go on to defeat Tyler Thomas at Tanko FC 3, Jamie Lee at FCC 18, Nathan Thompson at FCC 19, Terry Doyle at FightStar Championship 14, all via first round TKO. He would go on to defeat his next two opponents via unanimous decision; James McErlean at Evolution Of Combat Fight Night 2 and Anton De Paepe at Celtic Gladiator 22. For his final appearance on the UK  regional scene, Murphy won the FCC Featherweight Championship at FCC 23 against Manolo Schianna via TKO in the first round. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Murphy made his UFC debut against Zubaira Tukhugov, who was returning after a three-year lay-off, on September 7, 2019 at UFC 242. The back-and-forth fight ended in a split draw with one judge assigning each fighter a 29-28 win and the third seeing it as a 28-28 draw. Murphy faced Ricardo Ramos on July 16, 2020 at . He won the fight via technical knockout in round one, earning himself a Performance  of the Night bonus. After his second fight in the promotion, Murphy re-signed with the UFC. Murphy faced Douglas Silva de Andrade on January 20, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 20. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Murphy was scheduled to face Charles Jourdain on September 4, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 191. However, Murphy was pulled from the event due to visa issues, and he was replaced by Julian Erosa. Replacing injured Tristan Connelly, Murphy stepped in on short notice against Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 267 on October 30, 2021. Murphy won the bout, knocking out Amirkhani  with a knee after catching him shooting for a takedown at the beginning of the second round. Murphy was scheduled to face Nate Landwehr on March 26, 2022 at . However, Murphy withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by David Onama. Personal life. Murphy has a son.