Freire calls out Lerone Murphy after UFC 333; Murphy says all contenders need one more fight

MMA-TV Newsroom Summarized with AI Today at 12:08 AM Updated Today at 12:22 AM AI checked 19 minutes ago

The bottom line

Patricio Freire called out Lerone Murphy on X as the one logical opponent; Murphy had posted that every contender needs another fight, without naming Freire.

From 7 reports by 5 outlets

Latest Murphy: all contenders need one more fight, top-five win first Today at 12:22 AM 5 outlets

Freire calls out Lerone Murphy after UFC 333; Murphy says all contenders need one more fight — Photo via BJPenn.com · added Today at 12:08 AM

What we know

Freire wrote on X that of the top 15, others are injured, booked, moved up or coming off losses, and that he is the one who makes sense for Murphy.
Murphy wrote on X that he was told he must beat a top-five opponent before a title shot and that this should apply to all contenders; the post did not name an opponent or a booking.
Volkanovski retained the UFC featherweight title by second-round stoppage of Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, ending Evloev's unbeaten run.
Freire is 2-2 in the UFC, with losses to Aaron Pico and Yair Rodriguez, and knocked out Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331.
Pico called for a rematch with Murphy after knocking out Losene Keita at UFC 333.

Reported, not confirmed

A Freire-Murphy fight is not booked; Heavy on UFC floated a possible London card. Heavy on UFC

Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire has turned a rankings argument into a callout. Two days after UFC 333, he answered a post from Lerone Murphy by working through the featherweight top 15 and crossing off names until only the two of them were left.

Murphy started it. He wrote that he still thinks all contenders need one more fight before a title shot, adding that he had been told to beat someone in the top five and that this should apply to all. The post did not name an opponent. Freire took it as an opening: Evloev just lost, Sterling is fighting Vallejos, Jean is waiting for the title shot, Yair and Allen are injured, and others are coming off losses or have moved up.

The timing helps his case. Alexander Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev in round two at UFC 333, ending Evloev's unbeaten run and thinning the list of available contenders. Murphy has not fought since losing a majority decision to Evloev in London in March, his first defeat after an unbeaten run. He is 35 and needs a fight to get back into the title picture. BJPenn.com raised a possible Murphy-Evloev rematch.

There is a wrinkle. Freire lost to Aaron Pico, the man Murphy beat, so he is pitching himself as the opponent for the fighter who beat the fighter who beat him. Pico himself called for a Murphy rematch after UFC 333. Freire is 2-2 in the UFC, with losses to Pico and Yair Rodriguez, but his knockout of Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331 was among the year's best finishes, according to BJPenn.com. At 39, a win over a top-three featherweight would move him up quickly, though BJPenn.com notes he is unranked in its Meta rankings.

Heavy on UFC suggested the matchup could fit a London card, since the UFC typically returns there in March. That is speculation, not a booking. Murphy's reply is the next thing to watch. He set the standard of beating a top-five opponent, and Freire's challenge tests whether he applies it to himself.

Summary: Patricio Freire called out Lerone Murphy on X as the one logical opponent; Murphy had posted that every contender needs another fight, without naming Freire.

Key points (one per line): Freire called out No. 3 featherweight Lerone Murphy on X after UFC 333: 'I'm the one that makes sense now.'
Murphy posted that all contenders need one more fight and that a top-five win should be required of everyone.
Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, ending Evloev's unbeaten run.
No fight is booked.