UFC star reveals the one thing Ilia Topuria must do to become a GOAT

featherweight star Lerone Murphy insists current 145lb king Ilia Topuria must defend the belt a few more times to be considered as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in the division.

Topuria, 27, has been a breath of fresh air since signing with the promotion back in 2020. 'El Matador' has gone from strength-to-strength following his debut victory against Youssef Zalal. He then produced several highlight-reel finishes over the likes of Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert and Bryce Mitchell before taking on Josh Emmett last year.

Emmett - a durable fighter - is regarded as one of the toughest guys in the division and certainly posed a real threat to Topuria and was capable of handing the 27-year-old the first loss of his professional career. That said, 'El Matador' made the fight look easy and dominated from start to finish, securing a convincing decision victory.

The win set Topuria up with a mouthwatering clash against Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight strap. The 27-year-old once again backed up his talk, to become the new king of the 145lb division. The victory in California, boosted his stock massively and is now recognised as one of the biggest stars in the sport.

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It wouldn't get any easier, though. The first defence of his title saw Topuria go glove-to-glove with one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time in Max Holloway. Just like his 15 previous fights, the first Georgian and Spanish fighter to win a UFC championship made it looks easy, last month.

While it's early doors yet, there are a few who believe that Topuria is already one of the featherweight GOATs. That said, Murphy - an undefeated prospect in the same division - believes 'El Matador' needs a few more wins under his belt. In an exclusive chat with Mirror Fighting, he said: “He’s just knocked out two of the GOATs of the division, so it’s hard to deny him right now. Obviously, he’ll have to win a lot more, defend the belt a few more times to become a GOAT and that’s what the GOATs do, they defend the belt and become undeniable."

In terms of legendary names at featherweight, Murphy weighed in and revealed his GOATs of the 145lb division - where he jokingly included himself. "For me, I would say: Max Holloway, (Alexander) Volkanovski, Jose Aldo, …. and Lerone Murphy! Topuria’s a great champion, but I’d like to see him beat a few more guys and then he’ll go into the GOAT talk.”

The well-spoken and confident sensation from Manchester is, like many, aspiring to compete for the illustrious gold belt one day. The 33-year-old - who is currently ranked 11th in the division - is coming off an impressive win over Dan Ige last month. The victory extended his unbeaten record to 15-0-1.

In an ideal , Murphy would love to fight for the title after two more fights, but is aware that he must secure statement wins in order to truly put his name on the map. “It’s always one fight at a time for me. In the perfect scenario, it’ll be two more fights and then fight for the title," he added. "That’s the perfect case. But, life doesn’t work like that, so we’ll see how it plays out. I’ve just got to take one fight at a time and keep winning and I also want to pull off better performances.

"I know that I’m better than I show so far. I just feel like I need to transfer that into the cage and take a little bit of pressure off myself. I just need to go out there and be free and I feel like I’ll show the better version of me. So that’s why I believe I need two more fights. I want to get back to finishing guys and then I’ll be ready for the champion.

"I know I can’t fight the champion with the current performances, I believe I’m good enough to fight the champion, but not with my last few performances. I believe the fight against (Edson) Barboza was good, but I just didn’t quite pull it out against Dan Ige. We’re figuring that out, and I’m sure I’ll show the best version of me soon."

In a shark-infested division, there are many names who are capable of challenging for the title. Also competing at 145 alongside Murphy is fellow-Brit, Arnold Allen. While 'The Miracle' was very complimentary of 'Almighty,' he believes an all-English showdown for the strap between the pair would do wonders for UK MMA. “Arnold is a great fighter. His last performance against Giga Chikadze impressed me. He looked good in that fight, and obviously an all-English title fight would be amazing for UK MMA," Murphy continued. "That would just show how good we’re doing and how well we’re doing and maybe it is a potential match-up. I can see him challenging for the title soon, maybe with another win or two like myself. So, if we do match-up, it’s for the title."