Patricio Pitbull wants Lerone Murphy, and he did the homework to make his case. Two days after UFC 333, the Bellator legend quote-posted Murphy on X with a roll call of the featherweight top 15. He crossed off names one at a time until he was the only one left.
Murphy had started it. He wrote that he still thinks all contenders need one more fight before a title shot, adding: “I was told I need to beat someone in the top 5 before I do, that should apply to all.” Pitbull took that as an invitation.
“Of the top 15, Evloev just lost, Lopes, Costa and Ortega moved up, Sterling is fighting Vallejos, Jean is waiting for the title shot,” he wrote. “Yair and Allen are injured, Zalal, Garcia and Onama are coming off losses, and you beat Pico. I’m the one that makes sense now. Let’s get it done.”
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Much of that list checks out against the week’s news. Movsar Evloev went into Saturday’s main event in Abu Dhabi at 20-0, challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the title, and he leaves 2026 with his unbeaten record gone. Murphy is in the same club. His perfect record ended in a decision loss to Evloev, part of the 10-fight UFC run that earned Evloev his shot. Aljamain Sterling meets Kevin Vallejos in the co-main event of UFC Qatar on Nov. 21. Vallejos told MMA Fighting he hopes a knockout there puts him in line for Volkanovski. Jean Silva is 7-1 in the UFC and hunting a title fight after submitting Jose Miguel Delgado in the third round. Delgado was a short-notice replacement for Yair Rodriguez. Arnold Allen’s injury is the reason Losene Keita ended up across from Aaron Pico at UFC 333.
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Pico complicates all of this. He knocked out Keita at 1:14 of Round 1 to open the main card, his first octagon finish, and then told the crowd who he wanted. “I want a rematch with Lerone Murphy,” Pico said. “I want to make money, I want to get to the title.” Murphy knocked Pico out in Pico’s UFC debut. Pico has won twice since, and one of those wins was a three-round decision over Pitbull himself. Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting called Pico’s callout “all-time bad” on X and argued that a rematch with Lerone was not going to happen because Murphy had KO’d him a year ago. Pitbull’s “you beat Pico” line makes the same point more politely. Pico already had his shot at Murphy and lost it.
I like Pitbull’s argument more than I expected to. Most callouts are vibes and a tagged handle, and this one reads like a man who sat down with the rankings and a pen. He doesn’t mention the obvious problem, though. The last time Pitbull and Pico shared a cage, Pico won, so Pitbull is pitching himself as the logical opponent for the guy who beat the guy who beat him. Murphy is the one who said every contender should have to beat someone in the top five, so the next move is his. If he holds Pitbull to that same standard, he’ll have to explain why a fighter with Pitbull’s résumé doesn’t qualify.
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