Lerone Murphy 'fell out of love' with MMA after learning of Diego Lopes' controversial title shot

Lerone Murphy will likely have to fight one more time before he challenges for UFC gold.

UFC CEO Dana White threw the featherweight division for a loop on Thanksgiving Day this past Thursday. Taking to CBS and then Instagram live, White announced the first slate of action to kick off 2026 and the company's new era on Paramount and CBS — a deal inked for seven years and $7.7 billion. Among the fights announced was UFC 325's headliner — a 145-pound championship rematch between titleholder Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Diego Lopes — on Jan. 31 in Sydney, Australia.

As one of the UFC's top featherweight contenders, the undefeated Murphy (17-0-1) admitted to his profound disappointment Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show." Murphy first heard rumblings about the rematch a month ago, but held out hope until the very end that he was next to challenge Volkanovski.

“When I first found out, I fell out of love with it for a bit, I’m not going to lie," Murphy said. "I got into MMA over boxing because I thought there were no politics. I thought it was simply: Do the work, the best fight the best, and that’s the way it goes.

"That’s what hurt me the most a bit. I have to get over it — it is what it is, it’s business. Just keep fighting, keep doing what you’re doing, keep winning, and we’ll get there eventually. I think it’s inevitable that it’s going to happen, and you know I’m going to be champion. My road's never been easy from the get-go."

The timing of Lopes' second-career title shot has caused quite the stir throughout the community. Lopes' first clash with Volkanovski came as recently as April, when he lost by unanimous decision. Since then, Lopes has competed just once, scoring a big finish over Jean Silva at Noche UFC in September.

Murphy, 34, expects the rematch between Volkanovski and Lopes to look exactly the same as the first fight. Outside of a late surge here and there, it was largely a vintage Volkanovski performance, as the two-time champ outpointed Lopes over 25 minutes.

"All I can think is they want a Mexican champion," Murphy said. "They must have seen the numbers that [Brandon] Moreno pulled in, or even Lopes pulls in. It's a business move, and it can only be that, really."

Hearing the backlash loud and clear, Lopes spoke out shortly after White's announcement. In a social media post, Lopes posted an image of himself smiling with the following caption.

"My face when I saw everyone crying. Sitting around, he won’t give you a title fight. Get to work and stop whining on social media"

Though Lopes didn't name names, Murphy reacted to the comment and made his case.

“I'm not crying. You can’t tell me to get to work," he said. "I’ve won nine fights in a row, so no one can tell me to get to work. I’ve fought whoever the UFC has given me. I've not ducked fights. I've said yes.

"In my opinion, I’ve done the UFC a favor by taking the [Aaron] Pico fight on three weeks’ notice — a dangerous guy. I believe he’s top five in the division, for sure. I feel he's one of the best there, and I went out and knocked him out.”

Lopes' aforementioned win over Silva seemingly cleared the path for Murphy's title shot at the time — or so he believed, thanks to Lopes' recent title loss. Silva was in a prime position to vault the contender line, and when Murphy watched the fight live, he believed his spot was secured with the Brazilian's setback.

"I was celebrating. I had seen that fight going Silva's way," Murphy said of Lopes vs. Silva. "I was thinking if Silva wins, he's going to get the next title shot. I didn't think there was any way Diego was going to get the title shot if he won. But good on him. If I was Diego, I would have taken the opportunity, too. So let them two fight. I'll fight whoever the UFC give me, and I'll get the next shot."

Going forward, Muprhy isn't sure what or who is next. His highlight-reel spinning back elbow knockout of Pico felt like the perfect icing atop his stellar win streak. And while it didn't come in a five-round bout, that's what Murphy expects next.

"I'm waiting for some news," Muprhy said. "I thought it was going to be Volkanovski. It's not, so let's see who they come with. I feel like the whole division's shouting my name, and for me, it's a kick up the a** because these guys must think I'm an easy ticket to the title, but they're going to get a rude awakening, I'm telling you.

"I've got a fire lit under me and I'm ready to kill. Simple."

Fighting in Sydney alongside January's title fight seems like a plausible idea in theory, though Murphy would prefer not to if he's entering another non-title tilt.

Presumably, the fight to make would be against fellow undefeated featherweight and passed-over contender, Movsar Evloev. The Russian grappling sensation had been the other name most linked to possibly challenging for gold before UFC's announcement of Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2.

Murphy just wants someone in the top five next. If it's Evloev, then so be it.

"He's shown up for 45% of his fights," Murphy said. "He's had 20 booked fights and shown up for, I can't remember [nine fights]. If the UFC book it, then we'll fight. We'll do a five-rounder. I believe I'm the best in the division right now, so I have to go and prove that."