UFC London: How two near-death experiences 'made' Lerone Murphy

The UFC fighter who had two near-death experiences

By Paul Battison
BBC Sport

UFC London: Tom Aspinall v Marcin Tybura

Venue: O2 Arena, London Date: Saturday, 22 July

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As Lerone Murphy lay on the tarmac drifting in and out of consciousness, blood pouring from a gaping wound in his head as he waited for an ambulance, he thought he was going to die.

Manchester's Murphy was coming to the end of a 30km bike ride as he built his fitness following injury, when a car turned right without looking, causing a collision.

The 31-year-old was catapulted into the windscreen before thudding to the ground on the other side of the vehicle.

The ambulance took 40 minutes to arrive.

Speaking at his gym, Manchester Top Team in Ashton-under-Lyne, Murphy tries to find the words to describe how he felt.

"It's weird because someone called my mum and I'm sat there waiting, and my mum is there, and I'm thinking 'I'm going to die here now'," Murphy told BBC Sport.

"I was bleeding out. I don't know... I felt numb. Still numb, it's weird. It's just one of them things, like, if it's going to happen it's going to happen, but I don't think I was scared."

Remarkably, the incident wasn't the first near-death experience of Murphy's life.

In 2013, he was shot in the face outside a barber's in Fallowfield, with Murphy describing the attack as "being in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Murphy didn't know what had happened until he "felt heaviness" in his mouth, which was "blood and bullets".

He spent nearly two weeks in hospital where he had to be fed through a tube, before having surgery to replace his teeth.

Part of the bullet is still lodged in his tongue to this day.

Murphy, who fights fellow lightweight Joshua Culibao at UFC London at the O2 Arena on Saturday, says both incidents affected him differently, but the cycling accident has "made him".

"It switched me on differently in life now," said Murphy.

"Even though I was in the UFC before, I was just taking the fights as they come, just going through life. But now it's like 'boom', I'm focused.

"I know that time is not promised, tomorrow is not promised for anybody, so it's like I've got a purpose now.

"I feel like I've come on leaps and bounds since [the cycling accident] happened, even mentally. In my spare time I'm spending it better with my family and stuff like that, I've changed a lot, man."

'I can't let this opportunity go to waste'

Getty Images

Murphy has won four UFC bouts and drawn one.

Before the shooting, Murphy says he was "living a different life, running around with no goals".

He started MMA the following year in 2014 and made his professional debut in 2016.

Murphy describes how the sport gave him a "purpose" and has encouraged wayward youngsters to follow in his path.

"Especially in areas like we grew up in, Old Trafford, Levenshulme, all around those type of areas it's full of kids like me. Literally, it's hard," said Murphy.

"That's not an excuse to go out and do whatever, but a lot of kids don't have direction, so with MMA there's a lot of opportunity.

"It was waking up every day with a purpose to get better. You can literally come from nothing and get there. There's no politics in it like football. You put in the hard work, you get good things back."

Murphy is unbeaten in his 13-fight career, winning four UFC fights since signing with the promotion in 2019.

After making it in the sport against all odds - hence his nickname, 'the Miracle' - he is determined to make the most of his opportunity in the UFC.

"It's the challenge that gets me up to do this, just waking up every day and chipping away at this goal," says Murphy.

"It's always been my dream to be a champion and even to provide for my family, give back to everyone around me.

"It's a big opportunity, and not everyone gets this opportunity. I've come from a poorer background so for me to get this opportunity now I can't let that go to waste."

'I know now I can come back from anything'

As well as helping to shape his personality, Murphy says his near-death experiences have also moulded him as a fighter.

Murphy last fought at UFC 286 in London in March, winning a split decision against Gabriel Santos.

"There's nothing anybody can do to me now that's worse than those two incidents," said Murphy.

"Even if I get beat I know I can bounce back from that because I've been to the lowest of the lows. I know I can come back from anything.

"You've always got to have some degree of fear because that's how fighters perform but I'm definitely not scared of anything now."

Despite the win over Santos, Murphy was unhappy with his performance, citing a concussion sustained from the cycling accident as being detrimental to his preparations.

"That was a long injury, so I couldn't train or spa for probably six months," added Murphy.

"It's like you're not working. As fighters we only get paid when we fight, so if you're not fighting, you're not getting paid and you've got bills and stuff like that, so it was a lot of stress."

Murphy says the build-up to fighting Australia's Culibao, 29, who has won 11 of his 13 fights, has been a far better experience.

"I'm feeling great, I feel like I'm coming into my prime now," he said.

"My mental and physical are caught up together now. I'm feeling good, positive about the fight, and it's time to put Manchester on the map."

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