Aljamain Sterling and Lerone Murphy tease featherweight showdown

Aljamain Sterling and Lerone Murphy have started to tease a possible featherweight showdown against each other.

As we know, Lerone Murphy was overlooked recently in the UFC featherweight championship conversation. Instead of him getting a shot against reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski, which was what many expected, that opportunity was instead given to Diego Lopes. As you can imagine, Murphy wasn’t too pleased about this.

RELATED: Aljamain Sterling explains why he should face Lerone Murphy in a No. 1 contender fight

To his credit, though, the Englishman has made it clear that he is ready to make his return to the cage as soon as possible and against just about anyone they put in his way. That could include former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling who, in recent days, has made his own feelings clear about the current state of UFC matchmaking.

In the following exchange on social media, Sterling and Murphy hinted at the possibility of squaring off at some point in 2026.

Just put the fries in the bag bro. https://t.co/GMtesYCWln

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 2, 2025

Sterling and Murphy tease future showdown

Sterling: “First sparring day back! I’m tryna get active my boy, Lerone Murphy, what’s shakin mate? We can’t let these guys have all the fun now.”

Murphy: “Be careful what you wish for g”

Sterling: “Just put the fries in the bag bro.”

Regardless of who you would prefer to win this fight, the big story coming out of all of this has to be the Volkanovski vs Lopes rematch. It still doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to the masses, and it will be interesting to see if Dana White responds to the criticism (if he even gets asked about it).

If Aljamain Sterling vs Lerone Murphy is a fight that winds up getting booked, who would you back to win and why? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!