Lerone Murphy has questioned the decision to let fighters who missed weight compete on this weekend’s UFC Vegas 115 card.
Murphy, fresh off his main event appearance at UFC London, where he suffered a controversial decision loss to Movsar Evloev, was surprised that both fighters who failed to make weight are still set to compete on Saturday.
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Darrius Flowers was the first, weighing in half a pound over the lightweight limit and losing 20% of his purse as a result. Rafael Estevam also faced the same penalty after missing weight again at bantamweight.
Lerone Murphy questions if fighters who missed weight should even compete at UFC Vegas 115
Photo by Jasper Wax/Getty Images
Lerone Murphy didn’t come up through the ranks as a highly touted prospect. When he first joined the UFC in 2019, he was on the standard entry-level deal and drew in his debut against Zubaira Tukhugov. That result meant he didn’t pick up the full $24,000 rookie payday.
He’s seen firsthand how tough it can be to get by on those early contracts. So when he heard that two fighters would lose 20 percent of their pay for coming in just half a pound over, he couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.
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Murphy posted on X: “20% of your purse for 0.5lb. Literally no point in fighting. Especially if you lose 20% + management/coaching + tax.”
Both fighters now find themselves under real pressure to perform. Flowers enters his fourth fight still searching for a win after dropping his first three with the promotion.
Estevam’s record stands out more positively – he’s undefeated at 14-0, including three UFC wins – but missing weight again means as many failed cuts as fights inside the octagon.
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