Fighters are human and have emotions. When provoked, they react—something fans learned firsthand with Arman Tsarukyan and Merab Dvalishvili. Yet, the criticism hasn’t stopped. In the latest fan-fighter altercation, tensions nearly escalated during the Lerone Murphy vs. Josh Emmett fight. One more step, and things could’ve gone south fast.

Josh Emmett is known for knocking his opponents out cold; his last fight against Bryce Mitchell was nearly perfect in terms of striking. However, Lerone Murphy had other thoughts in his mind when it came to facing Emmett. The undefeated Brit landed some picture-perfect shots, including a spinning back kick to Emmett, but the MMA community believes that other than running away from Emmett’s punches and striking at the right time, Murphy didn’t do anything.

As the judges scored the fight in his favor, a fan shouted, “You didn’t win,” prompting the fighter to move toward the commotion. However, security intervened and pulled him away from the scene. Well, the anger of the fans was palpable as neither fighter pushed the tempo much, and the bout lacked any major turning points apart from a standout slam in the second round. While Murphy connected more frequently, a large portion of his strikes were light, probing side kicks. Emmett, on the other hand, struggled with accuracy but threw with serious power whenever he did commit.

Lerone Murphy came pretty close to joining the list of fighters who have vented their anger at the fans. Fairly recently, Arman Tsarukyan faced a non-month suspension as well as a $25000 fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after the Armenian fighter threw his hands at a fan during his UFC 300 walkout in April 2024. The suspension was, however, reduced to six months, provided that he participated in an anti-bullying public service announcement.

In addition to Tsarukyan, there was the back-and-forth between bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, who was involved in a fan altercation at UFC 310 in December 2024. After Aljamain Sterling, they were walking back to their dressing room when one of Umar Nurmagomedov’s fans provoked the Georgian fighter, which turned into a huge fiasco.

Well, Lerone Murphy didn’t take major steps to shun the fan, but things could have gone south.  As the fight concluded with Lerone Murphy’s victory, enraged fans took to social media to call out the Briton.

Fans tear apart Lerone Murphy as the fight ends in a decision

Murphy was ultimately declared the winner, earning the victory with two judges scoring the bout 3-2 in his favor and the third judge awarding him four rounds to one. However, one thing should be noted: Murphy avoided any direct confrontation with Emmett in that fight. Looking at this, a fan wrote, “Back paddled most the fight, really wasn’t an impressive win. Could have gone either way though.”

Furthermore, a fan suggested that Murphy might have lost every supporter—except Michael Bisping. Why? Simply because he’s British: “Wow, I think he lost every fan but Bisping.” Was the decision right? Well, a fan thinks so, however, he also emphasized that the Briton shouldn’t fight in the main card ever again, “Right decision, but Lerone shouldnt touch a PPV main card ever.”

One of the judges scored the card,“49-46? Who was that?” And the fans were totally confused by it. Well, furthermore, another social media user emphasized that the fight was close, however, Murphy was running away from Emmett.  “Very close fight it could’ve gone either way but I got Josh cuz Murphy ran the whole time” It must be noted that Round 1 and Round 5 went to Emmett, while the other rounds were taken by Murphy. Last but not the least, another fan voiced the same words, “Running simulator.”

With a sixteen-fight winning streak, ‘The Miracle’ is looking forward to going for the gold, however, he will have to take on Movsar Evloev first. Given that, what are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinion in the comments below.