UFC Fight Night: Josh Emmett vs Lerone Murphy

The latest Apex Las Vegas UFC card is set to be headlined by the Josh Emmett vs Lerone Murphy Featherweight bout. The sturdy veteran and heavy-handed slugger Josh Emmett will try to give the Lerone Murphy his biggest trial in the organisation. Murphy is one of the biggest British prospects and a contender in the Featherweight division, and a win here might set him up for a title fight sometime in the future. But Emmett is not going away easily, and Lerone would want to try and avoid his explosive right hand, which can end the fight in an instant.

Josh Emmett Revcord (19-4)

The 40-year-old veteran will be entering his 15th UFC fight against Murpy, except that we haven’t seen him since December 2023 when he knocked out Bryce Mitchell. That win saw him break his first two-fight losing streak in his career as he was defeated by Yair Rodriguez and Ilia Topuria.

Before that, Emmett was on a five-figth win streak which saw him get highprofile wins against Calvin Kattar and Shane Burgos. Emmett’s punching power and ability to react in tough situations earned him a chance to compete for the interim Featherweight title. Unfortunately, he was edged out by Rodriguez, who managed to defeat him by triangle choke.

Emmett took a substantial amount of time after his win against Mitchell. He might be a bit rusty, but as they say, power is the last thing to go, so if Josh manages to touch Murphy on the chin the right way, it could be lights out. However, Lerone is much scrappier than Emmett is, who at this age might be slowing down and may need some time to settle in the octagon once the fight starts.

Lerone Murphy (15-0-1)

Murphy is still an undefeated Featherweight and only has one draw to his name against Zubaira Tukhugov way back in 2019, which was also his debut fight in the UFC. After that, he recorded seven straight wins in the organization, adding two stoppage victories.

His last four fights all went to a decision, where Lerone showed how he can outpunch and outmuscle his opponents in a feisty scrap. His last win was against Dan Ige, but the most notable one was versus Edson Barboza, which headlined UFC Fight Night 241.

Lerone already has five fight-round experience, so he has the gas tank to punch and move throughout the entire fight. This is where his advantage lies as he has to constantly think how to avoid Emmett’s right arm and inflict constant damage on him at the same time. This shouldn’t be a problem for Murphy as he was able to demonstrate this skill throughout his career and do it convincingly.

Emmett vs Murphy Prediction

This is a classic veteran vs prospect fight. At 40 years of age and after taking a long hiatus, Emmett is labelled as an underdog. He has the power to end the fight in a single punch, but he has to find a way to set it up. He was never that scrappy to begin with and this is a fight where he will need to chase down Lerone to inflict the fatal blow.

On the other hand, Murphy is seven years younger and has a fighting style that contrasts that of Emmett. While the Brit has the capacity to finish fights, he feels much better when he picks his opponents apart with constant blows and kicks.

I will definitely have to side with the bookmakers in this case and give Murphy as the favourite the nod here. Emmett always has a puncher’s chance, but I don’t see it happening again. I would rather say that Lerone does his thing and edges out a unanimous decision victory to extend his win streak.  

SAFER GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.