Overview

• Lerone Murphy surged into title contention with a first-round spinning back-elbow knockout of Aaron Pico at UFC 319 in Chicago.
• Murphy says he is already spotting weaknesses in Alexander Volkanovski’s game and is preparing for a December date in Las Vegas while waiting for an official call.
• Volkanovski publicly congratulated Murphy and posted "See you in December," signaling him as the likely challenger after earlier efforts to book Movsar Evloev fell through.
• The UFC has not announced the title fight, as the featherweight picture reshaped this year when Volkanovski reclaimed the belt in April after Ilia Topuria moved to lightweight.
• Outside the cage, Volkanovski appeared in a staged prank video feigning a neck injury and discussed long-term interest in a potential bout with Conor McGregor.