Murphy (17-0-1 MMA, 9-0-1 UFC) was tasked with welcoming Bellator and PFL veteran Pico (13-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to the octagon in the co-headliner at United Center in Chicago. Just like every other time in his career, he refused to lose and emerged with a first-round knockout triumph to further elevate his own profile in the 145-pound title picture.

Lerone Murphy might have a date set for a title fight with Alexander Volkanovski. The UFC featherweight champion took to social media to congratulate Murphy on his huge win Saturday in the UFC 319 co-main event. Murphy welcomed former Bellator star Aaron Pico to the octagon with a stunning first-round spinning back elbow knockout.

Lerone Murphy welcomed former Bellator star Aaron Pico to the Octagon in a five-round co-main event at UFC 319.

Israel Adesanya nearly missed the best moment of UFC 319 because he was too busy yapping. The former two-time middleweight champion watched on from home as Khamzat Chimaev claimed his old title on Saturday night. Dricus du Plessis was mauled en route to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at the United Center in Chicago.

Lerone Murphy stakes his claim for a title shot with a sensational knockout of Aaron Pico, while Khamzat Chimaev dominates Dricus du Plessus to win the middleweight belt at UFC 319.