Lerone Murphy is favored against Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy on Saturday, May 18 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is one of 12 fights on ESPN+. Barboza is 24-11 in his career, including 18-11 in the UFC, while Murphy is 13-0-1 in his career, including 5-0-1 in the UFC. There are a total of 12 fights, all on ESPN+ at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy. Let’s look at the bout between Barboza and Murphy and UFC predictions.
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 18 with 12 fights, all on ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy Betting
Edson Barboza (24-11, 18-11 UFC)
Barboza came into the UFC with a record of 6-0 and he has 18 wins and 11 losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has four wins and two losses. He defeated Makwan Amirkhani by unanimous decision, Shane Burgos by KO, Billy Quarantillo by KO, and Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision; while losing to Giga Chikadze by TKO and Bryce Mitchell by unanimous decision. Barboza has been a pro since 2009 and he has 14 wins by TKO/KO and one by submission. He has eight first round finishes.
Barboza said this to supersport.com about his upcoming fight against Murphy, “It’s funny because I think my last 10 fights have been with people younger than me, I’m [still] stood here, I’m still one of the best in the world. I feel better than ever, great training for five rounds. It’s going to be a war, I train for war. It’s going to be 25 minutes of war.”
Lerone Murphy (13-0-1, 5-0-1)
Murphy came into the UFC with a record of 8-0 and he has five wins, no losses, and one draw in the UFC. He defeated Ricardo Ramos by TKO, Douglas Silva de Andrade by unanimous decision, Makwan Amirkhani by KO, Gabriel Santos by split decision, and Joshua Culibao by unanimous decision; while fighting to a draw against Zubaira Tukhugov in September of 2019. Murphy has been a pro since 2016 and he has seven wins by TKO/KO and six by decision. He has six first round finishes.
Murphy said this to supersport.com about his upcoming fight against Barboza, “I’m heading for the top, I want the top contenders. Like the saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and it’s [being unbeaten] made me stronger in mindset and stuff like that. But I understand why fighters do feel like that, because in this game, a loss is like a year setback. Obviously it’s a small window as an athlete, so I do get the pressure.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Barboza 4.18 /Murphy 3.65
Striking Accuracy: Barboza 45% /Murphy 50%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Barboza 4.34/Murphy 2.40
Defense: Barboza 57% /Murphy 56%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Barboza 0.48/Murphy 1.29
Takedown Accuracy: Barboza 50%/Murphy 46%
Takedowns defended: Barboza 75%/Murphy 46%
Submission average: Barboza 0.1/Murphy 0.9
UFC Picks
It seems like Barboza has been around forever and he is still winning fights. He knocked out Billy Quarantillo last April and then survived a tough fight against Sodiq Yusuff in October. This will be the first main event fight for Murphy who is unbeaten in his six UFC fights. He has not fought since last July.
Murphy is listed as the slight UFC betting favorite in this fight. We know that Barboza is tough as nails and Murphy has done nothing wrong in his career. We haven’t seen him fight a lot of tough competition so this is definitely a step up in class. Maybe he can handle Barboza, but I think this fight is too close to call.
The rounds option at 3.5 rounds is the one I am focused on. The UFC odds have the over listed at -160. Barboza has already said he expects a war that will last the full five rounds and I see no reason this fight won’t be one that goes the distance. I’ll go over the rounds total as the top play for this fight.
| DATE | FIGHTERS | MONEY LINE |
| 05/18 | Lerone Murphy | -140 |
| Edson Barboza | +110 |
| 05/18 | Carlston Harris | +100 |
| Khaos Williams | -130 |
| 05/18 | Vinicius Salvador | +261 |
| Adrian Yanez | -350 |
| 05/18 | Angela Hill | -140 |
| Luana Pinheiro | +110 |
| 05/18 | Ramiz Brahimaj | +110 |
| Themba Gorimbo | -140 |
| 05/18 | Warlley Alves | +235 |
| Abus Magomedov | -311 |
| 05/18 | Tom Nolan | -500 |
| Victor Martinez | +351 |
| 05/18 | Ariane Carnelossi | +158 |
| Piera Rodriguez | -200 |
| 05/18 | Emily Ducote | -350 |
| Vanessa Demopoulos | +261 |
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