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.

⚡️ Alexander Volkanovski says he asked UFC to fight Movsar Evloev but now gonna fight Lerone Murphy next: "It doesn’t look like it’s gonna be Movsar. I tried making Movsar fight happen; I thought he deserved it. Now it looks like it’s going to be Lerone Murphy. Let’s do it [in]… pic.twitter.com/13iQYnZU8G

Lerone Murphy kept his unbeaten record intact and further established himself as a featherweight contender with a first-round knockout win over Aaron Pico in the co-main event of UFC 319.