UFC London results: Movsar Evloev edges Lerone Murphy in bizarre and controversial fight

Evloev gets off a good combo to start, finishing it with an uppercut. He blasts the body kick, nearly landing a spinning back fist. Murphy takes a jab and uppercut, sending jabs in return. Evloev finds a single-leg, planting Murphy into side control. Murphy doesn’t have the cage to help him here, as he takes punches. Murphy scrambles to pursue a kneebar and get closer to the cage. That’s all he wanted. Evloev latches on an arm-triangle-like position, but moves towards the back to land more punches. Murphy works to his feet! Evloev drags him back to the mat repeatedly. He lands punches throughout, as they break on the cage wall. Murphy finds a good one-two out of nowhere. Murphy stings back with a left hook before Evloev fires off a rapid combo of punches. Murphy absorbs a nice body hook. Another seems to bother Murphy. A failed Murphy spinning elbow gives up his back to lead him to the mat. Evloev finds a late takedown to put them in guard. That will do it. We have a draw on my cards, folks. Insane.

10-9 Evloev. (47-47.)

Evloev works the body with that kick right out the gate. Then a hard low blow lands to pause the action again. Wow. Referee Marc Goddard takes a point from Evloev. That’s absolutely massive. He needs a finish for sure now. How poetic.

He presses in, punching away at Murphy with aggression, bullying him to the ground with a brief trip sequence. They get up with Evloev getting back to work. He lands to the body with that kick again. Big swinging left hooks land for each. Evloev’s overhand right clips behind Murphy’s ear in a good exchange, then he attacks in with the double-leg to success. Murphy walks the wall only to get taken back down with Evloev on his back, taking punches. Murphy gets back to his feet, while Evloev rides. Murphy manages to escape, moving to the opposite side of the cage. Evloev takes a pair of jabs, firing back with a good combo. Evloev finds a moment to push Murphy to the mat for some good ground and pound before they scramble again! Murphy gets back up again, but Evloev has put together good momentum in his desperation, heading into the final round.

9-9. (38-37 Murphy.)

They trade leg kicks to start the middle frame. A solid punch combo lands for Evloev. He runs into a knee to the body before landing his first takedown. He gets behind Murphy, who works his way up with the help of the cage. It’s a short-lived grappling sequence, ending with an Evloev hook on the exit. He found the takedown, though. Going back to that well would be advised.

Evloev kicks low, accidentally touching the groin to pause the action. They resume quickly. Murphy lands a good front kick. Evloev takes a spinning wheel kick! It’s blocked, but landed with good impact. Evloev lands a good right hook before they trade. A nasty body kick lands from Murphy, who gets immediately backed up. Murphy lands a beautiful three-punch combo, with two body shots mixed in. Evloev takes a hard body kick. Murphy gets caught with a straight right, and Evloev pours it on with some big punches late! Strong close to the round. He steals it just barely.

10-9 Evloev. (29-28 Murphy.)

Evloev continues to back up Murphy. They trade body kicks. Murphy’s right hook lands. Evloev takes a low and body kick in succession. A nice right hook stings Murphy before he gets to working his jab. This has been an odd performance from Evloev so far.

They exchange rights. Murphy kicks low to the outside. Murphy starts aiming high with his kicks, but can’t find the mark. Evloev lands an overhand right. Murphy takes a hard body kick. Murphy looks for one in return, as they start trading at a higher volume. Murphy lands a good hook to the body, then his jab meets the mark. He teases that high kick again, but doesn’t land. Still no takedowns from Evloev, who rushes forward with punches, missing most.

10-9 Murphy. (20-18 Murphy.)

Murphy seeks the first combo, missing to take a low kick. Evloev pops his jab and starts to back Murphy up. Murphy moves well, kicking his way out of the spot. Evloev lands a hook behind the head of Murphy, followed by a good overhand. Murphy connects with a good right down the pipe. Evloev lands a nice push kick that backs up Murphy. A hard body kick finds its mark from Evloev. He continues to press forward and control the cage. Murphy punches out the best he can, but it doesn’t last. Evloev lands a loose looping left hook. No takedown attempts yet. A right hook finds the mark for Evloev. He presses forward to duck Murphy’s punches. They switch position, but Evloev gets right back to pushing forward. Evloev lands another good body kick. Competitive opening round.

10-9 Murphy.

In an ever-so-slightly altered parallel universe, UFC London is hosting a featherweight title fight right now.

Evloev has long been touted as a future champion, with many pundits and fans alike predicting that 2025 was going to be his year. All he needed was the opportunity, they said, and then you can tally another one in the MMA championship history books for Russia. Instead, he’s being forced to take the long road, chasing down a 10th UFC win to reach the mark of 20 pro fights unbeaten.

Murphy can say the same through 18 fights, but holds a draw in his UFC debut, keeping him tied with Evloev in the promotion’s win-streak department. Coincidentally, both have been critiqued for perhaps not being the most exciting fighters at 145 pounds — at least until their most recent fights.

Murphy displayed incredible patience when weathering the storm and setting up his kill-shot against Pico. Was the fight tailor-made for Murphy to deliver a career-defining highlight? Sure, especially when you assess and rewatch the fight moment-by-moment. Outside of the champion, Volkanovski, Murphy is the Swiss Army knife of the featherweight division, able to do anything and everything extremely well.

Evloev is a calm and calculated striker, but his real strength lies on the ground. As an elite grappler, he’s confident in every position once the fight hits the mat, which could be bad news for Murphy. Facing an aggressive wrestler like Pico, Murphy was taken down in key moments. While that ultimately led to Pico’s downfall, Evloev brings that same level of danger on the ground, but with an unwillingness to leave any defensives holes open as widely as the former Bellator contender.

Admittedly, the five-round length could make this matchup very intriguing down the stretch. A literal decision-machine, Evloev hasn’t seen a championship round since before his time in the UFC, when he reigned over M-1 Global in 2017-18 as its bantamweight champion. For the most part, this should be a typical Evloev breakdown, but Murphy will come on strong late. The Russian’s technique has just been too sharp throughout his career, and I can see him putting on an undeniable performance regardless of his layoff.

Pick: Evloev

A double jab starts the final round for Riley. Aswell presses inward, seeking a bodylock that he gets against the cage. He switches to a leg to try and get the takedown. No dice. They break, as Riley delivers a good right hook. Aswell has leaned on this clinch approach, but found no success the whole fight. Riley’s left hook lands. Another gets Aswell’s attention. Riley launches another, then goes to the body. He’s firmly in control now. Riley rips the body and goes up high before a knee to the body lands. They each land massive hooks. Aswell suddenly connects with two hooks! And another! Riley has given up on defense. Aswell clinches again, locking them to the cage. Riley separates with a punch and teep. He jabs at the body. A nice left shovel hook gets through for Riley, then he works back to pressuring. That’s a wrap. Solid scrap.

10-9 Riley. (30-27 Riley.)

Riley chops with an outside leg kick. Aswell eats a body jab then a one-two. Riley’s jab is doing work now, whether high or low. Aswell catches Riley with a punch off balance, grabbing to bring Riley to the cage, holding from behind. Aswell double jabs his way in to land a right straight on an exiting Riley. They trade blows in the pocket. Riley starts to regain steam, rattling off rights behind the ear of Aswell. He backs him up, only to eat a flurry of punches. Aswell is hanging in there, and they trade big punches once more. A hard elbow lands for Riley. Aswell fires back two hooks, then a third. A right straight connects nicely for Riley. He backs up Aswell to land a right hook. That hand is doing all the damage for him here. Aswell fights back late, eating a heavy hook and returning one of his own.

10-9 Riley. (20-18 Riley.)

Aswell charges across the cage to run right into a pair of Riley jabs. Aswell jabs then catches Riley with a nice left hook. That was solid contact. Riley attempts to jab his way out of being backed up. Aswell presses, landing nice right hands and uppercuts through their clinch tie-up. He’s really bringing it. Riley keeps getting pummeled against the cage. A nice elbow and punch land on the break. Riley jabs and kicks low before taking a big hook and firing back. They trade right hands. Aswell lands a one-two to enter the pocket and clinch to the cage again. They break and trade some more. Riley finds a nice right hand over the top that halts Aswell’s pressure. Riley is starting to dictate better. His overhand right is giving Aswell fits. They each eat big rights, then Riley lunges in to connect a left to Aswell’s chin. Momentum has swung late, as Riley rips the body. His jab finds its mark again. Aswell absorbs the inside low kick, then fires back a nice right, but eats follow-ups from Riley. Fun back and forth there.

10-9 Riley.

Luke Riley gets his chance to really build momentum at home, and the UFC appears fully behind him with this card placement. The young English prospect has shown hints that he might become a well-rounded, composed fighter, but this is still very much a “prove it” stage of his career.

Michael Aswell, meanwhile, feels like the type of opponent who either gets overwhelmed quickly or drags things into uncomfortable territory. He’s aggressive, a bit unpolished, and willing to make fights messy, which isn’t always ideal for a prospect trying to look clean and controlled. Both men are at a stage where they have a lot to prove.

Riley should be the sharper, more technical fighter, especially if he keeps this at range and avoids getting sucked into a scrap. But if Aswell can muddy things up early, this could turn into more of a grind. Overall, Riley has just looked much more the part, delivering better performances throughout his 12-fight undefeated stretch.

Pick: Riley