Alexander Volkanovski’s next featherweight title challenger could be determined Saturday when unbeaten 145-pound contender Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy headline a UFC Fight Night event in London, England.
Russia’s Evloev is 9-0 in the UFC with all nine of his wins via decision, while England’s Murphy is 9-0-1 coming off a highlight-reel knockout in his most recent appearance. Murphy is a two-to-one betting underdog entering the weekend.
The card is full of top English fighters with rising star Luke Riley featured in the co-main event against American Michael Aswell.
Unique striking talent Michael “Venom” Page takes on fellow Brit Sam Patterson in a welterweight contest and Christian Leroy Duncan is looking to get the home crowd on its fee when he faces Roman Dolidze in middleweight action.
It was mostly smooth sailing at Friday’s weigh-in, however a women’s bantamweight bout between England’s Melissa Mullins and Brazil’s Luana Carolina was removed from the card due to regulatory reasons after Carolina missed weight by a whopping eight pounds and the bout was not sanctioned. All other fighters successfully made weight.
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Below is the full bout order plus predictions for UFC London.
MAIN CARD
-- Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy
-- Luke Riley vs. Michael Aswell
-- Michael “Venom” Page vs. Sam Patterson
-- Iwo Baraniewski vs. Austen Lane
-- Roman Dolidze vs. Christian Leroy Duncan
-- Kurtis Campbell vs. Danny Silva
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola
-- Nathaniel Wood vs. Losene Keita
-- Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco
-- Mantas Kondratavicius vs. Antonio Trocoli
-- Louie Sutherland vs. Brando Pericic
-- Shaqueme “Shem” Rock vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady
-- Shanelle Dyer vs. Ravena Oliveira
-- Melissa Mullins vs. Luana Carolina
Ahead of each UFC event in 2026, UFC reporter Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter), producer Dan Fernandes (@DanFernandes__) and writer/editor Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) will peruse the odds and make four betting predictions using fantasy dollars: one best bet, one favourite, one underdog and one dart throw wager. REMINDER: Sportsnet is committed to promoting and educating audiences about the importance of betting responsibly. Sources for responsible gambling can be found HERE.
AARON'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Montas Kondratavicius vs. Antonio Trocoli does not go the distance -1000
Favourite: Luke Riley -222
Underdog: Roman Dolidze +365
Dart Throw: Danny Silva wins by decision +450
Based on the high finishing rates of both fighters, it would come as a surprise to me if Kondratavicius and Trocoli hits the scorecards. Both are always looking for the finish. … Of the British prospects, Riley is a standout. It took him some time to get comfortable in his UFC debut, but with that behind him, I believe that he is better than Aswell in all areas of mixed martial arts and that he will emerge victorious. … Christian Leroy Duncan has improved quite a bit, but I cannot wrap my head around him being this big of a favourite against a fighter as talented as Dolidze. While he is a bigger underdog than I am usually comfortable selecting for this article, I can’t pass him up at such a high price. … Another underdog that has value is Danny Silva. Kurtis Campbell looked great on Contender Series, but we have seen fighters who have delivered big performances on that platform have trouble once they face UFC-calibre opponents and Silva is a consistently tough out. If Silva does win, I believe that a decision is his most likely path.
DAN'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Mario Pinto -800
Favourite: Michael Page -175
Underdog: Shem Rock +102
Dart Throw: Dolidze by decision +950
Portugal’s Mario Pinto continues to ‘bish bash bosh’ his way past UFC-calibre opponents and is yet to taste defeat in his MMA career. On paper, this might be an easier fight than his previous two as he takes on debutant Felipe Franco who doesn’t seem to have the same pedigree as Jhonata Diniz and Austen Lane. Pinto trains in England and will have avoided significant travel during fight week, which leads me to believe this is probably his most efficient camp. He’s yet to see a 3rd round in the UFC and even if he does for the first time on Saturday, he likely still gets his hand raised. … Michael ‘Venom’ Page will look to put on a show in London and win the crowd over countryman Sam Patterson. MVP is a clear step up (or two!) in competition for Patterson who may be overwhelmed by the unpredictable nature of his opponent. If MVP is able to connect with a few combinations early he will likely win the crowd over quickly which could slant the playing field even further. Patterson poses both a submission and KO threat, but is unlikely to be able to get a hold of MVP and trying to chase him down could be his downfall. … History tells us that Shem Rock lost to Nurullo Aliev 30-27 back in November but I think the fight was much closer than the scorecards indicated. With the lessons learned from that defeat I think Rock is able to get one over Abdul-Karem Al-Selwady who was knocked out in his UFC debut back in March. … I think Roman Dolidze vs Chris Leroy Duncan will be a closer fight than the moneyline indicates. CLD hits like a truck but struggles against veteran UFC opponents who are able to get a hold of him. Dolidze has plenty of big fight experience and I believe he is the better all-around fighter here. If this goes to cards, Dolidze might just edge this one.
MIKE'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Iwo Baraniewski -550
Favourite: Movsar Evloev -250
Underdog: Nathaniel Wood +190
Dart Throw: Sam Patterson to win in Round 2 +800
Lerone Murphy has looked great at times in the UFC but he has also been taken down far too often for me to feel comfortable going with the underdog in the main event. Evloev is a phenomenal talent who thrives in the grappling departments. I see Evloev using his wrestling to dictate where the fight takes place and that is the biggest difference. … If you were to design the most unappealing style matchup for Austen Lane in his 205-pound debut you might end up with a fighter whose skill set resembles Baraniewski’s. This has first-round stoppage written all over it, but is that too obvious? … These cards in London usually have a great crowd so there will be some huge pops if locals like Wood or Patterson can pull off upsets.
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
Three legs: Kondratavicius vs. Trocoli doesn’t go distance + Pinto + Baraniewski
Parlay odds: -216 (to win: $46.25)
2026 STANDINGS AFTER 7 EVENTS
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
2026 record: 3-4 (W1)
2026 winnings: -$136.12 (on $100 bets)
AARON'S RECORDS/TOTALS (14-14, +3.91 units)
Cage Lock: 4-3 (-$206.61)
Favourite: 5-2 (+$68.19)
Underdog: 3-4 (+$80)
Dart throw: 2-5 (+$450)
DAN'S RECORDS/TOTALS (13-15, -2.85 units)
Cage Lock: 6-1 (-$12.21)
Favourite: 4-3 (-$123.75)
Underdog: 2-5 (-$200)
Dart throw: 1-6 (+$50)
MIKE'S RECORDS/TOTALS (11-17, -10.11 units)
Cage Lock: 6-1 (+$49.94)
Favourite: 3-4 (-$201.80)
Underdog: 2-5 (-$160)
Dart throw: 0-7 (-$700)
Cage Lock: The pick deemed to be the wager most likely to win regardless of what the odds look like. The Cage Locks parlay will combine Aaron’s, Dan’s and Mike’s respective best bet for each event.
Favourite: A fighter with winning odds shorter than -300 but not longer than -110. On chalkier cards with a dearth of available moneyline favourites that meet those criteria, prop bets are allowed to be selected.
Underdog: Any fighter with longer odds than their opponent’s.
Dart Throw: Any prop bet or moneyline wager with odds of +400 or longer.
(Betting odds above are via BetMGM, submitted at various times throughout week, and subject to change prior to the fights)
