
The UFC makes it way to London this Saturday, and the stakes have never been higher for a Fight Night card. For the first time in UFC history, two undefeated featherweights will collide when Movsar Evloev faces Lerone Murphy in the main event of UFC Fight Night 270 at The O2 Arena.
The previous record for the most combined wins without a loss in a single UFC matchup was 33-0, held by Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310. Evloev and Murphy shatter that mark this Saturday, and the winner will almost certainly punch their ticket for a shot at featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
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(L-R) Movsar Evloev, Lerone MurphyChris Unger/Zuffa LLC-GettyImages
(Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC-GettyImages)
Here is your complete, accurate guide to UFC Fight Night 270: Evloev vs. Murphy, including the full fight card, start times, broadcast details, and the key storylines that make this event unmissable.
Full Card and Start Times
The event takes place on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at The O2 Arena in London, England. The venue, with a capacity of approximately 20,000, is expected to be electric with passionate British fight fans.
Note: Women’s Bantamweight bout between Melissa Mullins and Luana Carolina was cancelled after Carolina weighed in 8 lbs over the 136 lb limit.
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Main Card (4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT)
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Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy (Featherweight Main Event)
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Luke Riley vs. Michael Aswell Jr. (Featherweight)
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Michael “Venom” Page vs. Sam Patterson (Welterweight)
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Iwo Baraniewski vs. Austen Lane (Light Heavyweight)
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Roman Dolidze vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (Middleweight)
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Kurtis Campbell vs. Danny Silva (Featherweight)
Preliminary Card (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT)
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Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola (Lightweight)
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Nathaniel Wood vs. Losene Keita (Featherweight)
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Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco (Heavyweight)
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Mantas Kondratavicius vs. Antonio Trocoli (Middleweight)
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Louie Sutherland vs. Brando Pericic (Heavyweight)
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Shem Rock vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (Lightweight)
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Shanelle Dyer vs. Ravena Oliveira (Women’s Strawweight)
How to Watch
United States: The entire card is available exclusively on Paramount+, with the prelims starting at 1 p.m. ET and the main card at 4 p.m. ET.
United Kingdom: Viewers can watch live on TNT Sports 1 or stream via Discovery+ , with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. GMT for prelims and 8 p.m. GMT for the main card .
Main Event Breakdown
This matchup is a rare gem in modern MMA. Two elite featherweights at the peak of their powers, both undefeated, will face off for the chance to fight champion Alexander Volkanovski later this year.
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Movsar Evloev’s Dominant Run
The 32-year-old Russian, who trains out of American Top Team, has built his reputation on suffocating pressure and relentless wrestling. Evloev’s eight-fight UFC winning streak at featherweight is tied with Murphy’s for the longest active streak in the division.
His resume is a murderer’s row of contenders, holding decision wins over Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen, and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
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Movsar Evloev
Evloev is a statistical anomaly. He is the only fighter in UFC history to start 9-0 in the promotion with all victories coming by decision. While he lacks finishing ability (his last stoppage came in 2019), his control is absolute. He has completed 43 takedowns in nine UFC appearances and has landed two or more takedowns against eight of his nine opponents.
His fight against Sterling was a display of some of the most intense and exciting grappling exchanges I have ever seen in the UFC (via UFC on YouTube):
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Movsar Evloev vs Aljamain Sterling | FULL FIGHT
Lerone Murphy’s Incredible Story
The 34-year-old from Manchester, England, carries a nickname earned through unimaginable hardship.
In 2013, at age 21, Murphy was shot three times in the neck and face outside a barber shop. He spat out bullets onto the sidewalk, required a tracheotomy to breathe, and still carries a bullet shard in his tongue to this day.
The UFC profiled his story:
He didn’t begin training in MMA until the following year. In 2022, he survived a near-fatal cycling accident that left him bleeding from a head injury, with doctors telling him he might never fight again. He returned to the octagon 10 months later.
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Inside the cage, Murphy is a composed and intelligent striker with clean technique and improving defensive awareness. His most recent outing was a spectacular first-round knockout of Aaron Pico via spinning back elbow at UFC 318, one of only 10 spinning back elbow knockouts in UFC history:
The Key to Victory
This is a classic striker-versus-grappler matchup, but with a twist: Murphy’s takedown defense has been solid throughout his career, though he has yielded at least four takedowns in five of his 10 UFC bouts.
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Evloev will pressure forward, initiate clinch exchanges, and chain-wrestle until Murphy breaks. His goal is to neutralize Murphy’s striking and turn the fight into a grind.
Murphy, meanwhile, will use footwork and range to keep the fight standing, looking to pick Evloev apart with jabs and kicks. If the fight remains a five-round kickboxing match, the advantage swings dramatically toward the Englishman.
Co-Main Event: Liverpool’s Luke Riley Gets the Spotlight
Undefeated prospect Luke Riley steps into the co-main event slot against Michael Aswell Jr. Riley, who trains alongside Paddy Pimblett. Riley made waves with a quick finish of Bogdan Grad in his UFC debut and carries a perfect record into this high-stakes showcase (via UFC on YouTube, timestamp @39:28):
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Other Fights
Michael “Venom” Page vs. Sam Patterson (Welterweight)
Michael ‘Venom’ Page
Page returns to welterweight after a 2-0 stint at middleweight, looking to entertain the London crowd with his signature unorthodox striking.
Nathaniel Wood vs. Losene Keita (Featherweight)
Wood is 6-1 since moving up to featherweight and lands an incredible 58.3% of his significant strikes—the third-highest rate in divisional history.
O2 Arena Crowd
When the UFC returns to London, the crowd brings energy that few venues can match. This Saturday, that live energy will fuel a historic main event between two undefeated featherweights who have taken very different paths to get here.
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By Sunday morning, one man’s zero will be gone. And that man will be one step closer to Alexander Volkanovski and UFC gold.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the MMA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
