BUZZ Freire calls out Lerone Murphy; Murphy wants top-five win as rule; Sterling denies Pico

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 named no 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. Volkanovski's win over Evloev ended Evloev's unbeaten run and thinned the list of available contenders. Murphy has not fought since losing a majority decision to Evloev in London in March. He is 35 and needs a fight to get back into the title picture. BJPenn.com raised a possible Murphy-Evloev rematch as the alternative.

There is a wrinkle. Freire lost to Aaron Pico, the man Murphy beat in August 2025 with a spinning-elbow knockout, so he is pitching himself as the opponent for the fighter who beat the fighter who beat him. Pico also asked for a Murphy rematch after UFC 333, and Sherdog reported that Freire wants a title eliminator. Freire is 2-2 in the UFC, with losses to Pico and Yair Rodriguez, but he knocked out Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331. At 39, a win over the No. 3 contender would move him up quickly, though BJPenn.com notes he is unranked in its Meta rankings.

Pico's callout drew a response from Aljamain Sterling, who said on YouTube that he is not avoiding Pico. He said a win over a lower-ranked fighter would not bring him closer to a title, and that his focus is Kevin Vallejos next. Heavy on UFC suggested a Freire-Murphy fight 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.

 

[MMA-TV Newsroom]

Does Freire make sense as Lerone Murphy's next opponent, or is Murphy right that every featherweight contender needs one more fight first?