As Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes get ready to battle for the vacant featherweight title at UFC 314, an undefeated featherweight is slowly rising up the ranks. Returning to action after his UFC 308 triumph, Lerone Murphy is now a top 10 fighter, almost six years after making his debut in Dana White’s promotion. ‘The Miracle’ will be taking on veteran Josh Emmett as the promotion returns to the Apex in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 256.

Lerone Murphy is currently 15-0-1 in his professional MMA career, with a 7-0-1 UFC record. While he’s steadily making his climb in the 145-pound division, ‘The Miracle’ has remained relatively low-key as opposed to other fighters, who love to be the center of attention. In this article, we take a look at Murphy’s background and the long road to becoming a fighter.

Is Lerone Murphy English? Ethnicity and nationality

Lerone Murphy was born in the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester in 1991 and has lived there most of his life. An Englishman by nationality, there’s not much information available in the public domain for us to assume which ethnic community the featherweight star hails from. However, ‘The Miracle’s last name, ‘Murphy’, appears to be of Irish origin, which stands for ‘sea warrior’.

When he left college and his professional football dreams, Lerone Murphy had no direction or purpose in his life. This is partly why he fell into gang life and went down a very dark road, until his harrowing shooting incident in 2012, which changed his entire life. The 33-year-old said, “That incident was the turning point in my life. It made me appreciate life.” And after the birth of his son, Lerone Murphy was determined that “I’ve got to switch on here and do better for myself and my family”.

Having turned pro in 2016, Lerone Murphy has remained untouchable since then and is one of the top MMA fighters from the United Kingdom. Now, let’s change course and look at whether Lerone Murphy practices a religion or not.

Which religion does Lerone Murphy follow?

Unlike some fighters like fellow featherweight Bryce Mitchell, Leron Murphy is silent regarding his religious beliefs. While it’s not confirmed, the Manchester native might be a Christian since he studied in a Catholic school growing up. Moreover, ‘The Miracle’ has even acknowledged God in some of his social media posts as well.

“14-0 praise God for it all,” said Lerone Murphy after his win over Dan Ige at UFC 308. While not vocal about it, we can assume that Murphy places his faith in a higher power, going by his words after his win over Ige.

Growing up wasn’t very easy for Murphy, as the aforementioned near-death experiences speak for themselves. But you’d be surprised to know that fighting wasn’t in the 33-year-old’s agenda in the first place when he was growing up. Let’s take a look at that front. 

More about Lerone Murphy’s family & background

Firstly, 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 dedicated himself 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 Catholic High School (renamed to St Anne’s RC Voluntary Academy). Unsurprisingly, as a teen, Lerone Murphy wanted to become a professional soccer player.

And Murphy was quite good at soccer 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 pursue the sport professionally. In the end, however, he did become a professional athlete, just not in the sport he originally wanted. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Lerone Murphy’s inspiring journey to the UFC?