UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) was zoning in on numerous opponents for his next title defense. At one point it appeared to be Yair Rodriguez, then the champion shifted his focus to the winner of the originally scheduled bout between Movsar Evloev and Aaron Pico at UFC on ABC 9 in July.

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.

⚡️ 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