Lerone Murphy's journey to the top of the UFC has been nothing short of miraculous.
The 33-year-old Mancunian has accrued an impressive record of 14-0-1 in mixed martial arts over the last eleven or so years, receiving his call-up to the big leagues on incredibly short notice back in September 2019. Since then, he has racked up six wins with the promotion, highlighted by his unanimous decision victory over Edson Barboza in Las Vegas in May - an event which marked his first headliner for the UFC.
Sitting 12th in the featherweight rankings, the British talent is undoubtedly making waves worldwide at present. However, it isn't too long ago that Murphy was fighting for his life in hospital after being shot in broad daylight in his hometown.
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Back in 2013, aged just 21 at the time, Murphy was shot in the face and the neck outside of a barbers in Fallowfield, before being rushed to hospital not knowing if he was going to make it through. Recounting the horrific incident in an exclusive chat with the Manchester Evening News, Murphy said: "I just lived a different life when I was younger.
"Ended up getting shot at 21 years old and the rest is history. I think I started training nine months later towards the end of that year. I didn’t get into MMA because of that, it got brought to me I believe by the higher powers and it just put me on a new path."
It is reported that Murphy spent two weeks in hospital after the shooting, being fed through a tube before having surgery to replace his teeth. And a part of a bullet which hit him is
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