UFC action returns to the Apex this weekend with one of the most entertaining fighters of his era stepping back into the main event spotlight.
Highlight machine Edson Barboza is looking for his first three-fight winning streak in more than seven years, and his first such streak since dropping from lightweight to featherweight, when he meets undefeated Lerone Murphy in a five-round matchup in the 145-pound division this Saturday.
Barboza might be 38 years old but has been fighting like he’s still in his prime, going 2-0 in 2023 and coming off a five-round Fight of the Night win over Sodiq Yusuff this past October. Barboza overcame a first-round walloping, losing 10-8 on two scorecards, before mounting an impressive comeback over the next 20 minutes and getting his hand raised as the underdog against a younger fighter who at the time was on a hot streak.
He'll look for a similar result against Murphy, who also picked up two wins last year to improve to 13-0-1 in mixed martial arts and 5-0-1 at the UFC level.
Murphy, 32, does not yet have a signature win in the UFC and is unranked. A win over Barboza, currently the No. 12 contender at 145 pounds, would position him somewhere in the top 15 and land him another signature matchup.
Several key UFC 304 fights were announced by Dana White and depending on how Saturday’s main event goes and how much damage he absorbs, Murphy could be a candidate to be added to that upcoming pay-per-view card at a later date. Murphy is from Manchester where the July 27 event is being held.
If Barboza emerges victorious, on the other hand, we may hear him issue a lofty challenge.
The Brazilian told reporters in Las Vegas earlier this week he wants to fight Max Holloway for the “BMF Title” in the future.
“If one guy deserves to fight for the BMF Title it’s me,” Barboza said Wednesday. “Who has better highlight knockouts than me? Imagine. I love Max Holloway. He’s one of my favourite fighters ever. I love to watch him fight and he’s a very nice guy, very family guy, but imagine a fight against him for the BMF belt.”
This will be Barboza’s 30 UFC contest which will put him in an exclusive group. The only other active fighters with 30 or more UFC contests on their résumé are: Jim Miller (44), Andrei Arlovski (41), Clay Guida (36), Rafael Dos Anjos (35), Charles Oliveira (33), Neil Magny (32), Matt Brown (30), Dustin Poirier (30) and Alex Caceres who joined the 30-fight club last weekend.
Barboza’s also tied with Poirier for most Fight of the Night awards in UFC history with nine. He has three additional performance bonuses thanks to his highlight knockouts of Terry Etim, Beneil Dariush and most recently Billy Quarantillo 13 months ago. Barboza is 4-3 since 2020 when he decided to move weight classes.
UNDERCARD OVERVIEW
Yanez’s back against the wall: Adrian Yanez knows there’s plenty at stake in his fight with Vinicius Salvador. Yanez needs a win after two straight KO/TKO losses. The 30-year-old began his UFC tenure 5-0 with five bonuses and four knockouts but fell short against Rob Font and Jonathan Martinez last year.
Angela Hill closing in on record: The experienced strawweight is set to compete in her 25th UFC bout and is eyeing her 11th win in the 115-pound division. Hill enters her Saturday bout with Luana Pinheiro tied with formers champions Jessica Andrade, Carla Esparza and Joanna Jedrzejczyk with 10 wins inside the UFC’s lightest weight class. The calibre of Hill’s wins are much different than Andrade, Esparza and Jedrzejczyk, of course, with Hill lacking a win over any top-ranked UFC contender. Pinheiro has lost two in a row after beginning her MMA career 11-0.
In addition to the bouts mentioned above, Saturday’s card also has a welterweight co-main event between underrated Khaos Williams and Carlston Harris, welterweight up-and-comers Themba Gorimbo and Ramiz Brahimaj face each other both coming off first-round finishes, plus the preliminary card has several fun pairings including Abus Magomedov vs. Warlley Alves which could produce some chaotic fireworks.
A 205-pound matchup scheduled for the prelims underwent a mid-week facelift after Rodolfo Bellato was removed from his matchup with Oumar Sy due to injury. The organization announced Road To UFC veteran Tuco Tokkos would step in to face Sy on short notice. Tokkos is 10-3 as a pro and went 3-0 in 2023; Sy is 9-0. and also making his UFC debut.
Full card and projected bout order below.
MAIN CARD
-- Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy
-- Khaos Williams vs. Carlston Harris
-- Themba Gorimbo vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
-- Adrian Yanez vs. Vinicius Salvador
-- Luana Pinheiro vs. Angela Hill
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Oumar Sy vs. Tuco Tokkos
-- Victor Martinez vs. Tom Nolan
-- Tamires Vidal vs. Melissa Gatto
-- Abus Magomedov vs. Warlley Alves
-- Piera Rodriguez vs. Ariane Carnelossi
-- Alateng Heili vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
-- Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Emily Ducote
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