Manchester MMA fighter Lerone Murphy has made a promising prediction ahead of his fight at UFC 319 and says he wants a shot at the title.
The Old Trafford-born combatant is on the undercard for the highly anticipated bout between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, but just before the main event, the orthodox striker is set to take on American opponent, Aaron Pico, in an equally eye-catching clash on Sunday, 16 August.
Although this is expected to be the toughest fight of his career yet – having currently won 16 and drawn just one of his first 17 fights – ‘The Miracle’ Murphy believes he can notch a decisive victory, telling Card Player: “I want to go out there and make a big statement, and I want to finish him.”
Even more excitingly, the 34-year-old also believes this match-up should set him up nicely for the title fight he believes he deserves, stating that he’s aiming to take on the current reigning champion, Alexander Volkanovski.
Speaking in a fairly confident interview, now just days away from the event, the experienced Mancunian athlete went on to claim that not only does he believe it’ll be a spectacle in terms of the contrast in their styles, but he reiterated, “I think I can find holes and I believe I’m going to come out victorious.”
He arrived in the competition already boasting eight wins – five of them being knockouts – but this is still sure to be his biggest test yet, though he insists he doesn’t enjoy being considered the ‘underdog’ but even thrives the more people underestimate him.
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Wasting no time in calling out the Australian top dog of the featherweight division, reclaiming his title with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian fighter Diego Lopes back in April, Murphy says he’ll do anything and “fight anyone” to become Britain’s next UFC champion.
“I’m looking at anything to get to the title – I’ll fight anybody to get to Volk”, says the local lad. “Obviously, there are other options and probably better fights to take to get me there. I did think I would’ve been fighting Arnold Allen now, to be honest.
“When I was looking at the division and everybody’s injured or matched up, Arnold Allen was the only one. So I did think I would’ve been fighting him, but if the UFC wants it and he wants to, we can do it in the UK. I don’t think it’s going to happen for now.”
In fact, he plans to get it done by the end of the year and possibly even retain it in a hometown defence come early 2026.
Murphy told the outlet this week, “I win this fight, I challenge Volk in maybe October or November. I win, obviously, and then I defend it in Manchester in March. That would be the perfect scenario for me.”
You can see what he had to say in the most recent UFC media day in Chicago down below:
Lerone Murphy’s full press conference ahead of UFC 319.
In case you’re looking for a summary, besides what we’ve already covered above and citing Mike Tyson as his fighting role model, the nephew of late boxing trainer and Manc native Oliver Harrison, did admit that he feels he’s lost a fair amount of his punching power due to weight cutting.
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He also expects Chimaev to come out the other side against du Plessis.
Put simply, thinks fight fans and commentators alike need to “put more respect on Khamzat”, putting his money on the Russian “maybe getting a third or second round submission.”
Do you fancy him to make it past Pico and, more importantly, do you think he’s ready for (dare we say it…) Volk?
After his first UFC fight ended in a draw, Lerone Murphy has gone on an absolute tear 🔥
Featured Images — Publicity picture (supplied via Card Play)
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Greater Manchester stadiums included in the bid to host the Women’s World Cup confirmed
Danny Jones
The locations for the official UK bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been revealed, along with the Greater Manchester football stadiums chosen for the honour.
Not exactly a ground-breaking spoiler, but the FA did make a somewhat curious choice when they shared the news.
In case you hadn’t heard the news earlier this year, our nation has officially thrown its hat into the ring for the Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2035, with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all set to offer up their arenas as part of the record-breaking proposal.
Naturally, a region as footy-obsessed as ours and with two of the biggest stadiums in the country was always going to be included, but as mentioned, there was a particular detail that lots of people quickly noticed following the announcement.
Yes, in a slightly bizarre but ultimately innocuous turn of events, Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City FC – has been selected, as was the world-famous ‘Theatre of Dreams‘, the only difference being that it was listed separately from the city itself.
Instead, Man United’s iconic home turf, Old Trafford, has been listed as just that: in Trafford, specifically, as opposed to simply being listed in the same section as its sky blue counterpart.
Now, while it’s true that all 10 boroughs have their own identity, culture (not to mention some subscribing to still being part of Lancashire or even Cheshire), it did strike us and others as a bit odd to put that rather iconic and equally historic venue down as almost separate from the city.
Many would argue that one of the things Manchester is best known for around the globe is the team of Red Devils that play at that ground.
Naturally, ‘Cityzens‘ have had their fair share of fun with the post and, conversely, there’s been plenty of retorts regarding ‘supporters from Stockport’, as you would expect…
Nevertheless, we’re just glad to see the Etihad and Old Trafford continuing to cater to some of the biggest dates on the sporting calendar.
Some have actually argued that the region should have been given opportunities to host more stadiums and/or games as part of the market pitch, as the likes of both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic’s stadiums were floated as viable or even better alternatives, capacity-wise.
Either way, with the 22 venues that have been selected for the UK’s bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup and us Brits currently unopposed in the race to secure the tournament, the FA are going all-in for the 48-team competition, which would be “the biggest single-sport event ever staged in the UK.”
You can read more down below.
Our shared ambition: to host the largest single-sport event ever staged in the UK, and the first FIFA World Cup in this country since 1966.#AllTogetherpic.twitter.com/y6GOPEPDdG
Stockport County’s Christmas dinner in a cup returns for 2025 as part of new festive food range
Danny Jones
We can’t believe it’s rolled around again already, but with the festive period well underway and the big day just a few weeks away, Stockport County have brought back their viral ‘Xmas dinner in a cup’for 2025.
Better still, the County Courtyard has seen some new Christmas specials added to its food menu, too.
The local football club are absolutely flying in League One at the moment, having spent plenty of time at the top of the table already and still well and truly contesting those promotion/play-off spots.
If you’re a Stopfordian, that’s plenty of cause for celebration right there, but with the Christmas dinner in a cup also up for grabs once more, the holiday season literally couldn’t taste any better right now.
For those who’ve never seen it before, it’s exactly what it says on the tin – well, cup: a little Sunday dinner in a County-branded takeaway coffee cup, complete with a healthy pour of gravy and pretty much all the trimmings you could hope for.
Yes, including sprouts, because all of you who still don’t touch them need to grow up already.
Currently priced at just £4.50, not only does it contain virtually all the major food groups (barring the customary matchday pints, of course), it might just be one of the healthiest and best value-for-money bits of footy scran around – certainly in Greater Manchester, anyway.
But, as mentioned, that’s not all this year; Stockport are also serving up the new festive hot dog and even a ‘leftover Christmas curry’ in a bowl, which might even be more warming on a cold night at Edgeley Park than the Xmas dinner in a cup or clinging onto a flask of Bovril.
Anyone else craving that curry with a cheeky bit of bubble and squeak now?
It’s also worth noting that you’ll only be able to get one of those on Boxing Day, by the way, when the Hatters host Lincoln City in the league.
As for the rest of it, County fans can get their hands on this seasonal scran for the first time this year at the weekend when Dave Challinor’s side take on Barnsley at 12:30pm, and two of the three specials will then be served at home every game over the holiday period.
Speaking of random Christmas food creations, there’s another limited-time-only and potentially divisive example that we’ll also be sampling this December…
Danny Jones -
14th August 2025 
