The UFC 319 co-main event had the makings of a potential No. 1 contender fight and Lerone Murphy stated his case in no uncertain terms with an unreal first-round spinning back elbow knockout of Aaron Pico. Murphy is undefeated in 17 pro bouts, including a 9-0-1 mark in the UFC, and his finish of Pico could propel him into a long-awaited title shot.

CHICAGO – Lerone murphy sure made a compelling case to be the next in line for a shot at the UFC featherweight title.

⚡️ Alexander Volkanovski says he asked UFC to fight Movsar Evloev but now gonna fight Lerone Murphy next: "It doesn’t look like it’s gonna be Movsar. I tried making Movsar fight happen; I thought he deserved it. Now it looks like it’s going to be Lerone Murphy. Let’s do it [in]… pic.twitter.com/13iQYnZU8G