Update: I will be watching UFC 314 very closely – this is who I want to fight next News

Lerone Murphy is eyeing up a fight with either Alexander Volkanovski or Diego Lopes after defeating Josh Emmett at the Apex on Saturday night.

Lerone Murphy has revealed he would be keen to face the loser of the fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes at UFC 314 this weekend – as he mapped out his route to the featherweight title.

The 33-year-old Manchester-born fighter returned to the UK this week following victory over Josh Emmett in Las Vegas on Saturday night. A dominant five-round display at the UFC Apex helped the Briton secure a unanimous decision victory over his American counterpart [48-47, 48-47 and 49-46] to claim an eighth straight win in the UFC.

The victory saw Murphy move up two places in the featherweight rankings to eighth ahead of a landmark night of action in the division at UFC 314 this weekend.

The most eagerly anticipated pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year so far is headlined by Volkanovski and Lopes, who will fight for the featherweight title after Ilia Topuria vacated the belt to move up to the lightweight division earlier this year.

Earlier in the night, meanwhile, Patricio Pitbull will make his UFC debut vs ranked featherweight Yair Rodriguez.

And Murphy has admitted he will keep a close eye on proceedings at the Kaseya Center on Saturday night, as he would relish a fight with several of those on the card next up.

“The next fight will be a No.1 contender fight at the very least! So, I’ll be watching the Miami card very closely this weekend,” Murphy told The Manchester Evening News.

“I’ll be watching the Yair Rodriguez and Patricio Pitbull fight and then, obviously, the championship one between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. Maybe I’ll get the winner of one or the loser of the other.

“I think if you fight a former title challenger, it’s a bit bigger, right? I would presume so, anyway.

“I think Volkanovski and Lopes have got a big fan-base at the minute, as well – so I think fighting the loser of that would be bigger.”

Asked how a fight with Volkanovski would shape up, Murphy responded: “I think it’s a great fight… I think it’s very exciting. Volkanovski is a legend; great skill set and very well-rounded. I’d love to test myself against him.”