What’s next for Lerone Murphy and Edson Barboza after UFC Vegas 92?

In the main event of UFC Vegas 92, ranked featherweights threw down as Lerone Murphy took on Edson Barboza.

Murphy entered the fight with a record of 13-0-1 and was 5-0-1 in the UFC and on a five-fight winning streak. Barboza, meanwhile, was on a two-fight winning streak and was coming off an upset win over Sodiq Yusuff.

Ultimately, it was Murphy who got his hand raised as he beat Barboza by decision in the Brit’s first UFC main event. Following UFC Vegas 92, here is what I think should be next for the fighters involved in the main event.

Lerone Murphy

Lerone Murphy got a big opportunity as he headlined UFC Vegas 92 against Edson Barboza as it was a chance for the Brit to cement himself as a top-10 featherweight. Murphy ended up having the best performance of his career as he got a clear-cut decision win.

With the win, Murphy will enter the rankings and a logical next fight should be against Calvin Kattar who is currently ranked 10th at featherweight. It’s a chance for Murphy to break into the top 10, while it’s a step-down in competition in terms of the rankings for Kattar who has struggled.

It’s a perfect Fight Night main event in late summer or early fall as the winner could get a top-five opponent next time out.

Edson Barboza

Edson Barboza will likely never fight for the title at featherweight but he still is a top-15 fighter and will be a good test for up-and-coming fighters.

Barboza should be in for fun fights, and a fight that does make sense is the winner of Dan Ige vs. Joanderson Brito which is scheduled to headline a Fight Night card on July 20. The winner of that fight deserves a big-name opponent and Barboza is just that, while it’s another chance for the Brazilian to rebound and return to the win column against someone ranked below him.