Movsar Evloev overcame a point deduction to earn a surprising decision victory over Lerone Murphy in the UFC’s return to England.
Featherweights Evloev and Murphy headlined the UFC’s Fight Night card at the O2 Arena in front of 18,000 fans and generated a $4.5 million gate with each man putting their undefeated record at stake.
When the scorecards were read, it left many onlookers stunned, believing Murphy’s control of the first half of the fight, coupled with a point deduction against Evloev, would seal a victory for the British fighter.
Instead, it was Evloev earning a majority decision from judges Ben Cartlidge, Derek Cleark, and Clemens Warner. The first two scored the fight 48-46 for Evloev, and Warner had it a draw at 47-47.
Still undefeated 👊@MovsarUFC secures the majority decision victory at #UFCLondon!
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— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2026
Murphy appeared to be the aggressor in the first two rounds, taking more chances with his striking game and dictating the fight from that perspective. All three judges scored the second round for Murphy, but Cartlidge and Cleary scored the first round for Evloev.
Evloev only achieved his first takedown in the third round and had his best moment near the end of the round when he landed several shots making the third a toss up. In the post-fight interview, Murphy mentioned feeling his hip “pop” sometime in the third round and corresponded with a swing in the fight’s momentum.
A low kick to Murphy in the third round caused a momentary pause in the action, but a follow-up kick to the ground in round four resulted in referee Marc Goddard taking a point from Evloev. It increased Evloev’s aggression as he landed with a short right hand and took Murphy to the ground and won the round, despite a 9-9 score due to the low kick. Murphy was dealing with a noticeable cut above the left eye, and his corner believed the rounds were even heading into the final five minutes.
In the fifth round, Evloev continued to control the pace, including a showcase of his striking game before taking Murphy’s back on the mat.
The debate appeared to be whether Murphy would be awarded the third round and win the fight outright, or if the bout would be a draw, and few expected the scores to come in favor of Evloev, but he did get his arm raised and remains undefeated. Murphy applauded Evloev and campaigned for him to receive the next featherweight title fight.
On MMA Decisions, five media members scored the fight 48-47 for Murphy, twelve scored it a 47-47 draw, and no one has scored it for Evloev, thus far.
Evloev entered the fight as the #1-ranked featherweight while earning his tenth win inside the UFC. It was his first fight since December 2024, and he said after that, there is “no excuse” for him not to fight Alexander Volkanovski for the title next.
Results:
- Movsar Evloev def. Lerone Murphy by majority decision (48-46, 48-46, 47-47)
- Luke Rilet def. Michael Aswell Jr. by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
- Michael Page def. Sam Patterson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Iwo Baraniewski def. Austen Lane by TKO at 0:28 of Round 1
- Christian Leroy Duncan def. Roman Dolidze by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
- Danny Silva def. Kurtis Campbell by TKO at 0:31 of Round 2
- Mason Jones def. Axel Sola by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nathaniel Wood def. Losene Keita by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Mário Pinto def. Felipe Franco by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
- Mantas Kondratavičius def. Antonio Trócoli by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Brando Peričić def. Louie Sutherland by TKO at 1:48 of Round 1
- Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady def. Shaqueme Rock by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
- Shanelle Dyer def. Ravena Oliveira by TKO at 1:17 of Round 2
