"I don't think rankings have anything to do with it. Most of the time they don't mean anything. Everyone knows his level in the world, and he's got a big name."
"This is the biggest show in the world, and what an arena to make your debut. It could be a factor, yeah it could be a factor."
"I just think that just goes down to match-up. And also the other guys that have come over and not performed, may not have been in their prime."
"Mentally, I don't want to be waking up thinking about the same guy for 12 weeks, so that's a blessing."
Lerone Murphy welcomes Aaron Pico to the UFC at UFC 319 after Movsar Evloev's withdrawal. Murphy, currently 16-0-1, values Pico's reputation, asserting rankings hold little significance. Murphy acknowledges the potential pressure of a UFC debut but remains ambivalent about its impact. He emphasizes that each fighter handles pressure uniquely and doesn’t expect a lack of performance from Pico, who is in his prime. The short notice of this fight means Murphy has avoided prolonged mental focus on his opponent, which he considers advantageous.
Read at Cageside Press
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]