Lloyd Street South in Fallowfield, Manchester will forever be significant to Lerone Murphy; it is where Britain’s next potential UFC superstar was shot twice in the face.
On a balmy afternoon in May 2013, residents in the area heard Murphy repeatedly shout ‘please don’t’ before three gunshots ripped through the air in the quiet residential area.
But rather than become bitter or resentful, the Mancunian has never allowed the random attack to skew his view on the world.
Speaking to Murphy, (albeit via Zoom rather than in person) the sense of calm and self-control he conveys even through a computer screen is enrapturing.
Imagine stubbing your toe on an inanimate object in the house; before the realisation of the pain you are in sets in, envisage the feelings of pure vitriol and fury which swarm over you at the slight inconvenience of what has just happened.
Now imagine you’ve been shot in the neck and chin outside of a barber’s shop, minding your own business.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com about the incident, it becomes clear Murphy’s composure in the octagon when he fights is indicative of his character and his positive outlook on life since the vicious attack.
talkSPORT 2 will bring you all the action from UFC Fight Island on Thursday morning starting at 1am – including the main event between Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige
“I think that’s just king of my personality anyway,” he said.
“I’m laid-back, I’m calm and I don’t really let big occasions get to me – I kind of think ‘life is what it is’.
“That might be an attitude that I took from that experience and I see life for what it is; what is going to happen is going to happen.
“I’m kind of laid-back in that sense.”
The 28-year-old is set to compete in his second ever UFC fight on Wednesday on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi against Ricardo Ramos, a fight you can hear live on talkSPORT 2.
Having easily made the featherweight limit on Tuesday afternoon, Murphy would be forgiven for taking his opportunity to psyche out Ramos one last time before they meet in the octagon.
However, the Manchester Top Team fighter simply returned to his room on Yas Island and got straight back to work.
The precocious talent only started training MMA six years ago out of the famous All Powers Gym in Stockport. Within six months and fighting under the moniker of ‘The Miracle’, he had his first amateur fight and was hooked on the sport.
After domestic success came with consummate ease, it became apparent Murphy was destined for bigger and better things and moved to the bright lights of California to train at Alliance MMA.
Featuring the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Jeremy Stephens and even former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, the gym was the perfect environment for the youngster to hone his skills and move on from the tragedy of Manchester.
Having amassed an eight-fight win streak, including five knockouts, Murphy was firmly poised to make his break onto the world stage after choking out Manolo Scianna in just one round at Full Contact Contender 23 in Bolton last May.
However, whilst on an all-inclusive holiday in Jamaica, Murphy got a call from the UFC to appear on the main card of the upcoming event in Abu Dhabi which was to be headlined by none other than lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The fight with Zubaira Tukhugov ended in a split decision draw, a decision which irked the Brit, but inspired him to work harder for the next opportunity.
Murphy was set to fight at UFC London against Gabriel Benitez in front of a home crowd in March before the COVID-19 outbreak. His outlook on losing such a prestigious opportunity is admirable to say the least and shows the type of human being he is.
He added: “Oh that was mad disappointing; I probably had the best camp of my life, everything was perfect, I went to Thailand a few times for training.
“My weight was good and my cardio – everything was perfect. I had no injuries and it was such a huge plus to be fighting in front of my home town.
“All my family and friends had bought tickets and stuff. It would have been a good experience, but it is what it is. That’s just the way life works out and obviously I hope to fight on the next UFC London card.”
Given the crazy circumstances surrounding his debut against a fighter who was expected to win, it is incredible to think of how comfortable the Muay Thai striker looked against the fearsome Russian grappler.
He added: “To be honest, I train all year round so the only thing about my UFC debut was that I didn’t get to wrestle – I didn’t get to grapple really.
“I was on holiday four weeks before the fight; I had to cut like 16 kilos within three-and-a-half weeks. Which obviously that had an effect on my cardio.”
The step up in class was vast for a man who had never fought outside of the UK before and had only started training in the sport six years ago.
However, putting in the hard work and the graft to reach the top is not something Murphy will shy away from.
He continued: “I’ve had to put a lot more into my training and stuff because I have obviously realised the level I am fighting at now is a lot different to what I was fighting at then.
“So it’s not [his life] changed much as in anything else, but I just know where I need to be now and I know where I want to be.”
Ramos is a veteran of the UFC circuit and was on the undercard for Michael Bisping’s last ever fight back in 2017.
Yet having trained in Thailand for much of the past year, Murphy is hoping he can gain worldwide recognition with a strong performance on Fight Island.
“I think we will see a flashy fight, he throws flashy techniques and so do I. So we will see what happens.”
Provided all goes well for Murphy and he leaves Abu Dhabi still undefeated, his goals for 2021 are as measured and concise as his striking.
“So this year, I want to get home and heal up,” he concluded. “I’ll maybe have four weeks off because I’ve had a long, long training camp.
“I’ve been training right through so my body is a bit tired and fatigued at the minute, so when I get some time off I’ll probably want to get back out in December maybe. And from there, at this moment in my career, I want to be fighting every six months because I am still learning.
“I’ve only been in the game for six years from scratch so I am still growing at a rapid rate and I want to step up a level every time I fight.”
Considering what he had achieved so far in his career, who could bet against ‘The Miracle’ from achieving his goals?
Check out behind-the-scenes footage of UFC Fight Island on Abu Dhabi before a packed summer of fights
Watch UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KATTAR vs. IGE this Wednesday live on UFC FIGHT PASS from 12:00am BST and continuing on BT SPORT 2 from 01:00am BST.
