Paul Felder: Lerone Murphy needs ‘spectacular’ finish of Josh Emmett at UFC on ESPN 65 to gain traction

UFC commentator and analyst Paul Felder is a supporter of Lerone Murphy’s status as a surging featherweight title threat, and thinks a big performance in the UFC on ESPN 65 main event would put him over the edge.

Murphy (15-0-1 MMA, 7-0-1 UFC) will get the chance to add a signature name to his undefeated record Saturday when he takes on perennial contender Josh Emmett (19-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in a five-round headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN, ESPN+).

Felder will serve as a desk analyst for the event alongside Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Michael Chiesa and host Karyn Bryant. Although Emmett is the higher-ranked fighter, coming off the 2023 Knockout of the Year and entering from the longest layoff of his career, Felder said he’s captivated by the more unproven entity in Murphy.

“I really love watching Lerone Murphy fight,” Felder told MMA Junkie. “He had that dog fight with Dan Ige last time, and he had to dig super deep. I love seeing guys have to dig in there to get a win like that and prove I want to keep this streak going, I want to be able to climb to the top. If he can get past someone like Emmett, as hard as that motherf*cker hits, then I think he’ll be looking at some even bigger fights in future. I just like the kid. I like his mindset for the game. I like everything about him and I’m glad to see he’s got another big spot.”

It’s an interesting time for the UFC featherweight division. Just one week after Murphy meets Emmett, a new champion will be crowned at UFC 314 when Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes fight for the belt vacated by Ilia Topuria.

Murphy has stated his case that he could be next with a strong performance against Emmett. However, there are also the likes of Movsar Evloev and the winner of the UFC 314 matchup between Yair Rodriguez and Patricio Freire.

There’s a plethora of talent in the weight class and Murphy, No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, doesn’t often get his flowers. He admits he doesn’t want to sell out on his personality to skip steps in the sport. However, Felder said if he goes in and delivers a highlight against No. 6-ranked Emmett, then he will have to be taken seriously.

“I think he is (the dark horse),” Felder said. “The kid is really strong, his striking is really sharp and as he proved with Dan Ige, when he gets into these crazy grappling exchanges, he can hang in there with anybody on his level. I think if he wins this one, then he’s on a sneaky-big win streak and beating some really legit guys. Edson Barboza, Dan Ige, who’s a dog, if he can get Josh Emmett on that list. You’re putting yourself in there with the names that the casuals out there understand who aren’t necessarily watching every single event. That’s what you want to get, right? The diehard have known who Lerone Murphy is, but when you start beating the bigger names and maybe do it in spectacular fashion, that’s how you start to get more well known to the guys just popping in and watching.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 65.