Preview: UFC Fight Night 224 ‘Aspinall vs. Tybura’

Featherweights

Lerone Murphy (12-0-1, 4-0-1 UFC) vs. Joshua Culibao (11-1-1, 3-1-1 UFC)

ODDS: Murphy (-140), Culibao (+120)

This should be an engaging exercise between two surprising overachievers. A late-notice signing in 2019, Manchester’s Murphy was an intriguing talent who did not look particularly ready for the UFC, as “The Miracle” had run over a particularly weak level of competition before getting thrown into the deep end against Zubaira Tukhugov. However, Murphy acquitted himself well almost immediately, giving up a one-sided first round but putting things together enough to earn a draw against a tough opponent. Since then, Murphy’s career has been plagued by stretches of inactivity but otherwise been quite successful with four straight wins, even if those victories have been a bit of an adventure. Murphy can hold his own everywhere but often starts slow, eventually finding a pivot point to either take over the fight or score an outright finish. Now that Murphy is well-established, it would be nice to see him come through with a dominant performance to truly break out in a deep division. Maybe that will happen here against Culibao. Himself a late-notice replacement, Culibao looked like the classic type of fighter who would struggle moving up from the Australian scene to more athletic opponents in the UFC. While “Kuya” is typically fighting an uphill battle in that respect, he has been shockingly effective in terms of working his way to wins, coming into fights with clear gameplans that help him score victories on the margins. A sudden come-from-behind submission victory over Melsik Baghdasaryan in February might have been his most impressive bit of business thus far, and he has a solid shot at getting the victory in this assignment. It would be a lot easier to pick if Culibao had more of an appetite for wrestling—a path that has historically been effective to bank control and time against Murphy—but the bet is that he has done his homework enough to get off to a hot start and stave off his counterpart’s comeback long enough to win on the scorecards. The pick is Culibao via decision.

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Aspinall vs. Tybura
McCann vs. Stoliarenko
Wood vs. Fili
Muniz vs. Craig
Ziam vs. Herbert
Murphy vs. Culibao
The Prelims