UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has a name and date in mind for his next fight. Volkanovski called out Lerone Murphy after his highlight reel knockout of Aaron Pico at UFC 319. If Volkanovski has his way, the fight will take place this year.

Alexander Volkanovski has insisted that Lerone Murphy is a “no-brainer” as his next challenger for the UFC featherweight title, after the Briton’s stunning knockout of Aaron Pico. In the co-main event of UFC 319 on Saturday (16 August), Murphy finished Pico with a spinning back elbow in the first round, brutally ending the latter’s UFC debut.

UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) was zoning in on numerous opponents for his next title defense. At one point it appeared to be Yair Rodriguez, then the champion shifted his focus to the winner of the originally scheduled bout between Movsar Evloev and Aaron Pico at UFC on ABC 9 in July.