Lerone Murphy, Movsar Evloev react to UFC 325 title shot snub

Two undefeated contenders were not selected when deciding the next challenger to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Both Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev were bypassed with Diego Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) set to challenge Volkanovski (27-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) for the 145-pound belt in the UFC 325 main event on Jan. 31 in Sydney. Lopes just suffered a loss to "The Great" in a vacant title bout at UFC 314 in April, but his win over Jean Silva in September was enough to position him for a rematch.

Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC), who had seemingly warranted an opportunity at gold with a spinning back elbow knockout of Aaron Pico at UFC 319, expressed his disappointment in being snubbed (via X):

Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) took the situation with a more forward-thinking approach. The Russian hasn't competed since a narrow decision victory over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 300 in April 2024, and instead of complaining, challenged Murphy to a showdown of undefeated contenders (via X):

It remains to be seen how the UFC will book the rest of the weight class in the wake of Volkanovski vs. Lopes. Murphy is currently No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, while Evloev is No. 2 and holds a head-to-head win over No. 4-ranked Lopes.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Lerone Murphy, Movsar Evloev react to UFC 325 title shot snub