Movsar Evloev didn’t let Lerone Murphy’s home advantage amid a hostile crowd prevent him from scoring a majority decision and improving his chances for a title shot at UFC London on Saturday.
The undefeated Russian (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) also didn’t let losing a point for low blows in the fourth round keep him from victory by 48-46, 48-46, 47-47 on the judges’ scorecards at The 02 Arena. English featherweight Murphy (17-1-1, 9-1-1), in suffering his first loss, also saw the end of his nine-bout winning streak.
“With my head coach, we prepare level change, takedowns and then punches,” Evloev, 32, said afterward. “I think my punches are hard, I hurt him even if I didn’t finish him. Look at his face, he’s damaged.
“I showed that I don’t necessarily need to use my wrestling,” he said.
The No. 1 contender in the official UFC rankings should be in line for a shot against champion Alexander Volkanovski.
“Alex (Volkanovski) mentioned my name a lot of times. I accept this challenge, let’s fight,” Evloev said. “UFC, there is no excuse to not let me fight for the title.”
In the UFC Fight Night co-main event, Liverpool’s Luke Riley defeated American featherweight Michael Aswell Jr. by unanimous decision (30-27 on all cards) to improve to 13-0, 2-0. Aswell dropped to 11-4, 1-2.
English middleweight Christian Leroy Duncan also won by unanimous decision (29-28 on all cards) over Roman Dolidze of Georgia. Duncan (14-2, 7-2) has six wins in his past seven fights after a 1-1 UFC start. Dolidze (15-5, 9-5) was coming off a loss to “Fluffy” Hernandez that snapped a three-fight win streak.
American featherweight Danny Silva didn’t let it go the distance against previously unbeaten Kurtis Campbell of England, winning by second-round TKO. Campbell (8-1, 0-1) made his Octagon debut. Silva improved to 11-2, 3-1.
Fireworks erupted early between lightweights Mason Jones and previously unbeaten Axel Sola in perhaps the fight of the night.
Jones, a winner by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), improved to 18-2 and both fighters left the octagon bloodied.
Jones of Wales was knocked down with a spinning elbow in the first round and absorbed multiple direct blows. He had a cut above his right eye and under his nose when his hand was raised, but Frenchman Sola (11-1-1) had at least three cuts and was covered in blood at the final bell.
“I just like fighting people. Axel wanted to fight. I took it to him,” Jones said. “I opened him up. There was fear in his eyes at the end of the first round. There was fear in his eyes in the end.”
In a featherweight match, England’s Nathaniel Wood (11-3) got his fourth consecutive win and dealt Belgium’s Losene Keita his first loss in a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). Keita was 5-0 in the past three years and now has a 16-2 record overall in mixed martial arts.
Michael Page (25-3), who questioned whether he’d upset UFC officials because of the low-level spot on the card and his relatively anonymous opponent, defeated fellow Englishman Sam Patterson (14-3-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a welterweight match. “MVP” had more to say post-fight about a bout that drew plenty of pro fighting critics on social media for a lack of action.
“It’s getting more and more difficult when nobody really wants to engage. Everyone’s on the back foot,” Page said. “He knew how to frustrate me by not wanting to engage. It’s more difficult to fight somebody that doesn’t want to fight than fight someone difficult that wants to fight.”
Light heavyweight Iwo Baraniewski (8-0) struck American Austen Lane, a former NFL defensive lineman, with a quick left hook and then landed repeated right hands to win in just 28 seconds. Lane (13-8) was dazed and rocked back before ever throwing a punch or kick as the referee stopped the fight with Lane planted on his back taking cover.
Poland’s Baraniewski, a graduate from the Contender Series, could be in line for a marquee opponent in his next bout. He’s been buzzworthy since the December action-packed duel with Ibo Aslan at UFC 323.
Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (16-4) of Palestine scored his first UFC win with a 30-27 unanimous decision over English lightweight Shem Rock (12-3-1). Al-Selwady dropped Rock with an overhand right in the first round, but he rebounded off the mat quickly with an attempt to lock up Al-Selwady. Rock kept moving toward Al-Selwady and made contact after the ball, narrowly ducking a haymaker in retaliation before being led to his corner.
–Field Level Media
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