Lerone Murphy and Dan Ige at UFC 308 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Youtube/UFC
Lerone Murphy and Dan Ige continued their tough act after Shara Barrett KOed Amren Petrosyan with a double spinning backfist in their second match at UFC 308 on Saturday.
The featherweights immediately got to work, with Hawaii’s Ige coming forward and throwing bombs, trying to bully Murphy towards the fence. Murphy spent most of the early stages either circling or covering. After the first minute, Ige changed things up and scored an easy takedown.
Murphy’s landing was advantageous in that he ended up sitting with his back to the fence, giving him the opportunity to walk up the wall. However, Ige quickly negated that advantage by tying his leg around Murphy’s. Murphy eventually recovered, but Ige connected in the goal at the last moment, injuring Murphy! Ige started attacking and started pouring it out. Murphy was taking cover under heavy fire and appeared to be tattered in places. He managed to regain his position and hit a switch knee, likely saving his own life with a crucial takedown that turned Ige around just before the buzzer.
Despite a crisis late in the opening frame, Lerone Murphy appeared to bounce back in the second round. Immediately after the start, the pace slowed down a bit, and although there were some moments where my feet moved back and forth a little, there were no major movements. Ige goes to the body while Murphy hits a low kick and returns with a left hand. At the halfway mark, Ige went for a takedown, but was too far away and could do no more than send Murphy to the fence. So Lerone turned the tables and won the battle of head position and wrist control a little bit. Ige looked like he was going to make another comeback, but almost got cut off by the break.
Murphy closed out a better round two with solid footwork, low and high kicks, fluid head movement, and a takedown near the end. He quickly transitioned to riding, but Ige seemed tired. The Hawaiian buckled, but was able to slip out the back door. Murphy attempts a triangle from the back, but time runs out.
The third round started with Ige and Murphy tied. This time Ige finally got the upper hand on the ground (before a slick backroundhouse kick from Lerone) and got on top of Murphy. Ige can’t do anything from there, leaving Murphy to his feet. The two men grappled along the fence, and there was still a fight left. Now, it was Murphy who was working on the takedown. Ige took a knee and Marpy landed a blow, but was cautioned for hitting the back of the head. Murphy then went for a front choke, but Ige was able to escape and get to his feet before exchanging looping hooks and firing a knee. Murphy landed a knee in the final frenzy, and after an exciting back-and-forth battle, both men raised their hands in victory.
Murphy, now 15-0-1, called out Josh Emmett after scoring a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards.
Official result: Lerone Murphy def. Dan Ige unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
