UFC featherweight Lerone Murphy has maybe the coolest story behind his moniker in all of the UFC. ‘The Miracle’ was shot thrice coming out of a barbershop in Manchester when he was twenty-one. So shocked were the doctors that he survived being shot in his neck and face that they declared it to be a miracle. And that is why Murphy is called ‘The Miracle’.

This miraculous survival opened Murphy’s eyes and got him down the path of becoming a professional mixed martial artist. Today, he is undefeated and slowly but surely making his way up the UFC’s featherweight division. In this article, we take a look at ‘The Miracle’s background and long road to becoming a fighter.

Is Lerone Murphy English? Ethnicity and nationality

Lerone Murphy was born in the Old Trafford area of the greater Manchester area in 1991 and has lived there most of his life. An English national from the biggest soccer town in all of the UK (perhaps all of Europe), it was natural for him to be interested in England’s ‘real, de facto national sport’. And ‘The Miracle’ was more than just interested in soccer. But that dream ended very, unfortunately, as we will see more in-depth later.

After leaving college and his professional football dreams, ‘The Miracle’ had no direction or purpose in his life. This is partly why he fell into gang life and was going down a very dark road. Until his fateful shooting incident in 2012, which changed his entire life. He said, “That incident was the turning point in my life. It made me appreciate life.” And after the birth of his son, Lerone was determined that “I’ve got to switch on here and do better for myself and my family”.

Another turning point in his life came when he saw one of his friends and former gang member, Kane Mousah win an MMA fight. Murphy’s father was a UFC fan and ‘The Miracle’ had some training in boxing under his uncle. The stars, in short, aligned for the former footballer.

A few months after his shooting, Murphy would join one of the many MMA gyms in Manchester. Three years later, he turned pro and has never been beaten in the octagon ever since. And supporting him throughout this journey has been his family.

All we know about Lerone Murphy’s parents, family, and early life

There is almost no information available in the public domain about Lerone Murphy’s parents. Not even their names. What we do know about ‘The Miracle’s family for sure is that his uncle was the late great Oliver Harrison, a much-respected boxing trainer, who was British boxer Amir Khan’s first trainer. But growing up, Murphy was dedicated to a different sport- soccer.

The Manchester native was quite serious about the prospect of picking up soccer, having played it throughout his school life at St Edward’s Primary School, St Mary’s in Levenshulme, and St Anne’s High Catholic High School. Unsurprisingly, as a teen, he wanted to become a professional soccer player.

And Murphy was quite good too, making it to the trials for Liverpool FC having trained with Stockport County and FC United. However, the Manchester native suffered a knee injury at sixteen that derailed any plans to further go in for the sport. In the end, however, he did become a professional athlete, just not in the sport he originally wanted. What are your thoughts on Lerone Murphy’s inspiring journey to the UFC?