Muniz seemed poised to make a run at contention heading into last year, having earned three straight first-round submission finishes following his debut decision win. But a tepid outing against Uriah Hall slowed his momentum and a loss to Brendan Allen in February has him now looking to regroup in London.
Ideally, this turns out to be a high-level grappling match that just so happens to take place inside the Octagon, as Craig and Muniz are masters of their craft and their pairing has the potential to be exhilarating. Do what you’ve got to do in order to appease the fight gods so they may deliver us the grappling battle this deserves to be.
Jai Herbert vs Fares Ziam
Long, rangy lightweights meet here as English veteran Jai Herbert squares off with France’s Fares Ziam.
The 35-year-old Herbert has taken part in each of the last three UFC trips to London, coming away with a win, a loss, and a draw to leave his record sitting at 2-3-1 inside the Octagon. The former Cage Warriors champ got the better of the action against Ludovit Klein last time out, but a point deduction in the third round resulted in the fight being scored a draw.
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Ziam has gone 3-1 since dropping his promotional debut on short notice at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. The 28-year-old “Smile Killer” rebounded from a first-round submission loss to Terrance McKinney with a clean, professional effort opposite Michal Figlak in Paris, and will look to build on that victory here.
Both men stand six-foot-one and, despite a 75-inch reach, Ziam will still be giving up two inches to Herbert in that department. This could be a long-range striking battle and should provide some clarity on where each man currently stands, both in the division and in their respective careers.
Lerone Murphy vs Joshua Culibao
Featherweights open up the main card as Lerone Murphy makes his second home start of 2023, welcoming Josh Culibao to London for the first time.
Unbeaten in five UFC starts and 13 fights as a professional, Murphy pushed his winning streak to four with a split decision win over Gabriel Santos in March. It wasn’t the cleanest effort of his career, but after more than a year away and with a late change in opponent, I’m willing to cut Murphy some slack and expect a more dialed-in effort from him here.
