UFC on ESPN 65 live results: Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy

The Octagon is back inside of their home base tonight with a 12-fight card as UFC on ESPN 65 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event is an exciting featherweight contest as knockout artist Josh Emmett returns from a long layoff looking to hand undefeated Lerone Murphy his first career loss. Emmett is fighting for the first time since December 2023 where he scored one of the best knockouts in UFC history over Bryce Mitchell. Murphy is looking to keep his undefeated streak going after scoring a win over Dan Ige in his last fight in October.

The rest of the main card is anchored by a featherweight bout between rising contenders Pat Sabatini and Joanderson Brito; a bantamweight bout between Cortavious Romious and ChangHo Lee; a battle of middleweight veterans as Brad Tavares takes on Gerald Meerschaert; and the debut of Torrez Finney, who scored three wins on Dana White’s Contender Series before getting signed, taking on Robert Valentin in middleweight action.

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> Women’s Strawweights- Vanessa Demopoulos (11-6, 5-3 UFC) vs. Talita Alencar (5-1-1, 1-1 UFC)

Demopoulos lands a straight right hand to start. Alencar lands a couple of shots and they clinch against the fence. Alencar looking to get it down as she grabs the neck and drags it down. Alencar is inside the guard of Demopoulos. Alencar controlling from the top but not much action is happening. Alencar lands from the top. Alencar lands some more from the top. Demopoulos attacks for an armbar from the bottom but Alencar is able to get her arm free. Alencar lands from the top. 10-9 Alencar.

They trade as Alencar lands a body kick. Alencar with a solid combo ending with a right hand. They trade right hands. Alencar scores a takedown. Alencar working from the top and landing lots of ground and pound. Alencar traps a leg of Demopoulos and lands a lot of stiff right hands from the top. Demopoulos is looking for a leg as Alencar stands. Alencar gets warned to not grab the fence. Alencar looks for an arm-triangle choke as she lands to the body and time runs out. 10-9 Alencar, 20-18 Alencar.

They trade to start the third. They both land right hands before Alencar scores a takedown. She gets inside the guard of Demopoulos and lands some right hands. Alencar lands some elbows as she’s in control from the top. Alencar with some right hands from the top. Alencar gets the mount and lands some punches and elbows. Demopoulos is able to scramble up, but Alencar grabs the back and drags it right back down and lands some elbows. She lands some more to end it. 10-9 Alencar, 30-27 Alencar.

Official Result- Talita Alencar def. Vanessa Demopoulos by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

> Heavyweights- Martin Buday (14-2, 5-1 UFC) vs. Uran Satybaldiev (9-0, 0-0 UFC)

Buday with an inside leg kick. Satybaldiev with a leg kick. Buday lands an inside leg kick. Satybaldiev with a right hand. They trade near the fence. Buday with a left hook as Satybaldiev lands a leg kick. Buday lands a combo and has it pushed against the fence. Buday lands a knee as they break. Satybaldiev lands a big combo and is connecting with punches as Buday circles away. They trade against the fence. Buday with a heavy leg kick. Satybaldiev lands a right hand. He lands another as Buday lands a leg kick. Buday lands a quick flurry as they clinch against the fence. They separate and Buday lands a heavy leg kick. Satybaldiev with a combo and Buday lands a leg kick. Satybaldiev lands a knee as they clinch and Buday pushes it to the fence. Buday with some body shots. He lands more. They break. 10-9 Buday.

They trade and Satybaldiev lands to the body. Buday with a pair of leg kicks. Buday lands a left hook. Satybaldiev connects to the body and Buday pushes it against the fence. Buday with some body shots. They separate. Buday lands a leg kick. Satybaldiev lands a combo. They trade leg kicks. Satybaldiev lands a combination. Satybaldiev lands a right hand. Buday with a calf kick. Buday with another leg kick and Satybaldiev lands a leg kick. Buday lands and pushes it against the fence. Buday looks to get it down but Satybaldiev is keeping it upright. Buday lands to the body. Buday with body and head shots late and lands big as they separate. 10-9 Buday, 20-18 Buday.

Satybaldiev comes out firing and landing as Buday backs up. Buday lands a leg kick and is now pressuring. Buday with a left hand and they clinch. Buday with some body shots and lands some foot stomps. They separate and Satybaldiev rocks Buday with a hard right hand. Buday is on shaky legs but is able to tie up with Satybaldiev and push it to the fence. Buday landing to the body against the fence as Satybaldiev lands some knees. Buday with a big knee as they separate. They tie back up and Buday pushes it back against the fence. They are separated. Satybaldiev lands a combination. Buday with a leg kick. They trade at the end. 10-9 Satybaldiev, 29-28 Buday.

Official Result- Martin Buday def. Uran Satybaldiev by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Bantamweights- Victor Henry (24-7 1 NC, 3-2 1 NC UFC) vs. Pedro Falcao (16-4, 0-1 UFC)

Falcao lands a leg kick. Falcao with a pair of jabs. Falcao lands a leg kick as Henry lands a combination. Henry with a calf kick. Falcao looks for a takedown and grabs the back of Henry against the fence. Henry spins and lands a knee and they go to the mat. Henry stands and lands some leg kicks as Falcao is on his back. Falcao stands. Henry connects with a right hand. Falcao with a calf kick. They trade and Henry drops Falcao with a right hand. Henry jumps on top and lands as Falcao tries to attack a leg. Henry lands some hammerfists. Henry stands and lands some leg kicks. Henry lands some hard leg kicks and Falcao gets up. Falcao with a pair of body kicks. Falcao shoots for a takedown against the fence but Henry defends and they break. They trade inside the pocket. Falcao with a leg kick. Henry lands late. 10-9 Henry.

They trade and Falcao lands a heavy calf kick that stumbles Henry. Falcao lands a combo in close and lands a calf kick. Henry lands two leg kicks. Falcao lands a hook as Henry lands a right hand. Falcao scores a takedown. They scramble up and Falcao has the back and slams it back down. Henry reverses and gets on top. Falcao looks for an armbar but Henry defends and lands as Falcao pushes him off. They get to their feet. They trade as both are landing combinations. Henry lands to the body. Falcao gets a takedown and is in the half-guard. Henry gives up his back. He is able to sweep and ends up on top in side control. Henry with some left hands. Falcao scrambles to his feet. Henry lands a right hand. Falcao with a body kick. 10-9 Falcao, 19-19.

Falcao drags it to the mat and they scramble with Falcao getting the back of Henry. Falcao looks for a choke but Henry spins to top position. Henry lands from the top but Falcao pushes him off and they stand. Falcao looks for a takedown but Henry sprawls and has control. Henry lands some knees on the feet. Henry lands a right hand as they separate. Henry connects with a solid combination. Henry with a front kick and he lands two right hands. Henry scores a takedown and lands from the top. Falcao attacks the leg and they get up. Falcao has body control looking for a takedown. They separate and Henry rocks Falcao with a right hand. Henry connecting at a distance and Falcao shoots for a takedown. Henry sprawls and lands and they stand. Falcao with a leg kick and Henry with two right hand jabs. 10-9 Henry, 29-28 Henry.

Official Result- Victor Henry def. Pedro Falcao by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Women’s Strawweights- Loma Lookboonmee (9-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Istela Nunes (6-5 1 NC, 0-4 UFC)

They trade heavy leg kicks. They trade kicks. They exchange body kicks. More kicks are traded. Lookboonmee lands a quick combo and just misses a head kick. They trade more kicks. Lookboonmee throws a kick and Nunes grabs a leg and tries to land a right hand but misses. Timeout is called for an eye poke. Lookboonmee with a left hand. Lookboonmee with a combo as Nunes lands a leg kick. Lookboonmee lands two body kicks. Lookboonmee lands a body kick and Nunes lands a right hand. Lookboonmee with two body kicks and a left hand. She lands another body kick. Lookboonmee tries to drag it down but Nunes ends up on top and lands. Lookboonmee with some elbows. Nunes lands from the top. Close round. 10-9 Nunes.

They trade as Lookboonmee lands a body kick. Nunes lands a right hand. Lookboonmee with a jab. Nunes lands a leg kick. Lookboonmee with a leg kick. They clinch and both land knees. Nunes has body control and Lookboonmee lands a knee. Lookboonmee is able to get a takedown and Nunes is attacking the leg. Both land shots to the others’ leg. Nunes is rolling for an arm but Lookboonmee defends. Lookboonmee gets to her feet and Nunes still has the leg. 10-9 Lookboonmee, 19-19.

They trade and Lookboonmee with a combo. They each land a right hand. Lookboonmee initiates a clinch against the fence and Nunes reverses. Lookboonmee gets a takedown and works inside the guard of Nunes. Lookboonmee with an elbow from the top. Lookboonmee lands to the body. Lookboonmee staying on top and they are stood up by the referee. They clinch and Lookboonmee gets a throw takedown and is in side control before moving to the half-guard. Lookboonmee controlling from the top and trying to pass guard. Nunes is stuck on the bottom. Lookboonmee with some left hands. Lookboonmee ends the fight on top. 10-9 Lookboonmee, 29-28 Lookboonmee.

Official Result- Loma Lookboonmee def. Istela Nunes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

> Welterweights- Rhys McKee (13-6-1, 0-4 UFC) vs. Daniel Frunza (9-2, 0-0 UFC)

They come out trading with Frunza landing lots of kicks and connecting. McKee lands some leg kicks and punches and drops Frunza with a left hand. Frunza is able to get up but is still hurt. They trade and McKee stumbles Frunza with a right hand. McKee lands from the top and lands as they get to their feet. McKee drops Frunza for the third time with a left hand but Frunza gets up. McKee lands some big shots and Frunza goes down again but gets up. They’re trading and McKee lands a big elbow and Frunza is cut open. McKee lands a right hand. Frunza with a leg kick. McKee with a right hand to the body. McKee lands a combination. Frunza lands a combo. McKee with an uppercut. McKee lands a leg kick. They trade in close range. McKee with a body kick and they clinch. McKee with some short punches. McKee lands a knee. They separate. McKee lands a flurry. Frunza with a left hand. Wild round. 10-8 McKee.

The fight is called off by the doctor between rounds due to damage on the lip of Frunza. He has a big split in his lip, plus his right eye is badly damaged. Good call.

Official Result- Rhys McKee def. Daniel Frunza by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of Round 1

> Women’s Flyweights- Diana Belbita (15-9, 2-5 UFC) vs. Dione Barbosa (7-3, 1-1 UFC)

Barbosa lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. Barbosa lands to the body. Barbosa with a quick combo. Belbita lands a left hand and a leg kick. Barbosa with a combo to the body. Belbita lands a leg kick. Barbosa with a right hand. Barbosa with a head kick that got blocked but she lands a right hand. Barbosa lands a jab. Belbita lands a right hand. Belbita lands to the body and connects with an overhand right. Barbosa with a combo, and Belbita counters with a combo ending with a leg kick. They trade as both land. Barbosa with two right hands. Barbosa with a combination. Barbosa pushes it to the fence and lands and then lands a spinning elbow before scoring a takedown. Barbosa gets right into the mount and starts landing. Barbosa locks in an arm-triangle choke and it’s in deep and Belbita taps! Great showing from Barbosa to pick up the win.

Official Result- Dione Barbosa def. Diana Belbita by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:13 of Round 1

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> Middleweights- Torrez Finney (10-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Robert Valentin (10-4 1 NC, 0-1 UFC)

Valentin lands a leg kick. Finney picks Valentin up and takes him to his corner and slams him down. Valentin immediately scrambles up as Finney looks to take it back down, which he does. They get up and Finney still has back control. Valentin lands some elbows as Finney is trying to drag it back down. Valentin lands some punches, but Finney is able to take it back down and land some right hands and an elbow. They scramble up and Finney picks Valentin up, but is unable to get it down. He tries again and slams Valentin down. They get up and Finney lands a left hand as he has control. Valentin landing to defend but Finney gets it back down. Finney lands some punches. 10-9 Finney.

They trade and Finney gets a big slam takedown. Finney controlling from the top as Valentin lands an elbow and is attacking the kimura. Valentin lets go and Finney is in the full guard of Valentin. Finney lands some shots from the top. Finney landing some left hands to the head of Valentin. Finney picks Valentin up and slams him down and gets partial mount. Finney is on the back and looking to attack for a choke. Valentin is able to slip out and they scramble. Valentin with a hammerfist as they get to their feet. Finney trying to get it down as Valentin lands an elbow. Finney holding against the fence. 10-9 Finney, 20-18 Finney.

Valentin comes out landing and Finney lands a right hand. Finney goes for a takedown and pushes it against the fence as Valentin lands an elbow. Finney completes the takedown. They get up and are separated. Valentin lands and Finney looks for a takedown and pushes it to the fence. Finney holding on and they are separated. Finney pushes it back to the fence and then scores a takedown. They get up and Finney is pressuring as Valentin is landing. They are separated and Finney immediately goes back to pressuring against the fence. Valentin landing to defend as Finney is just holding on. Valentin lands more. 10-9 Valentin, 29-28 Finney.

Official Result- Torrez Finney def. Robert Valentin by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

> Flyweights- Ode Osbourne (12-8, 4-6 UFC) vs. Luis Gurule (10-0, 0-0 UFC)

Osbourne lands a body kick and Gurule lands two leg kicks. They trade kicks. Osbourne lands two left hands. Gurule with a body kick. Osbourne with a leg kick. Osbourne lands a left hand. They trade kicks. Gurule gets a takedown right into side control. Gurule passes over to the mount but Osbourne is able to recover Gurule into his half-guard. Gurule lands a pair of elbows and a right hand. Gurule lands and they scramble up and separate. Gurule lands a left hand. They trade kicks. 10-9 Gurule.

Both throwing but neither landing. They trade leg kicks. Gurule lands a leg kick. Gurule looks for a single leg and pushes it to the fence and has clinch control. They separate. Gurule lands a right hand and Osbourne lands a combination. Gurule with a high kick and a leg kick as Osbourne lands a combination. Osbourne with a left hand. Osbourne drops Gurule with a left hand. Gurule looked out but Osbourne jumps on top and starts landing to get the finish.

Official Result- Ode Osbourne def. Luis Gurule by TKO (punches) at 1:54 of Round 2

> Middleweights- Brad Tavares (20-10, 15-10 UFC) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (37-18, 12-10 UFC)

Tavares lands a jab. Tavares lands a right hand. He lands another. Meerschaert looks for a takedown as he grabs the body lock against the fence. They separate. Meerschaert with a left hand. Tavares lands a left hand. Meerschaert grabs a single leg but Tavares defends with punches and Meerschaert lets go. Tavares with a right hand. Tavares with an elbow. Tavares lands a jab and then a body kick. Meerschaert with a lunging left hand. Tavares with a jab as Meerschaert lands a left hand. Tavares lands a big right hand. He lands another then a body kick. 10-9 Tavares.

Tavares lands a leg kick then a right hand. Tavares with another leg kick and Meerschaert goes to the mat but is ordered up. They clinch and Tavares lands an elbow on the break. Meerschaert with a left hand. Tavares with an axe kick and lands a right hand. Meerschaert with a double left hand. Meerschaert lands a combination. Meerschaert with a left hand and lands a body kick. Meerschaert tries for a takedown but Tavares defends. Tavares with a combo. Tavares lands a right hand and they trade combos in close range. Tavares hurts Meerschaert with a right hand. Meerschaert lands a left hand. 10-9 Tavares, 20-18 Tavares.

They trade and Meerschaert looks for a takedown but Tavares defends. Tavares lands a right hand. Meerschaert lands a combo. Tavares with a front kick to the body. Meerschaert almost gets a takedown but Tavares stumbles out of it. Meerschaert gets the body lock against the fence and lands a couple of knees. Tavares defending as Meerschaert is pressuring against the fence. They are separated. Tavares lands a front kick. Meerschaert lands a quick flurry and pushes it against the fence. They break apart. Meerschaert with a high kick. 10-9 Meerschaert, 29-28 Tavares.

Official Result- Brad Tavares def. Gerald Meerschaert by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Bantamweights*- Cortavious Romious (9-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. ChangHo Lee (10-1, 1-0 UFC)

*Romious missed weight by 3.5 pounds

They are trading flurries inside the pocket to start. Romious lands an uppercut as Lee lands a jumping knee and looks for a takedown. Lee gets a takedown right into the mount position. They scramble up and Romious grabs the body lock and scores a takedown. They scramble and Lee ends up on top and lands before taking the back of Romious. Lee has the body triangle locked on and is landing punches. Lee is landing from the back and Romious is cut open. Lee locks in a rear-naked choke and Romious is leaking blood. Lee lets go and starts landing punches. Lee with lots of big shots but Romious is able to roll to top position. They scramble late and Lee lands. 10-9 Lee.

They trade and Lee lands a knee to the groin of Romious and timeout is called. They get back to action and both are landing. Lee looks for a takedown and they scramble to the mat as Romious takes the back of Lee. Romious looks for a rear-naked choke as Lee stands with Romious on his back. Romious rolls for an armbar but Lee escapes and starts landing from the top. Lee lands some elbows. Lee working from the half-guard. They get to their feet. Lee gets it down and Romious looks for an armbar. Lee escapes and is in side control and lands an elbow. Romious gives up his back. Lee with the mount and is landing a lot of punches and lands from the back as he flattens Romious out. Lee with tons of punches and now is landing elbows. He’s eating a ton of shots and this could be stopped and it finally is. Lee picks up the big win.

Official Result- ChangHo Lee def. Cortavious Romious by TKO (punches) at 3:48 of Round 2

> Featherweights- Pat Sabatini (19-5, 6-2 UFC) vs. Joanderson Brito (17-4-1, 5-2 UFC)

Sabatini lands a body kick. Sabatini scores a takedown and gets to side control. Sabatini looking to set up a choke of some sort from the top. Sabatini controlling from the top as Brito is having trouble trying to scramble out. They stand and Sabatini has the neck and lands a knee. Sabatini gets a big takedown against the fence and is in side control. Sabatini gets to the half-guard and is landing elbows and now some punches. Sabatini with big shots from the top to end the round. 10-9 Sabatini.

They trade as Brito defends a takedown attempt and Brito lands a combination. Sabatini scores a takedown. Sabatini pushes it to the fence and starts landing from the half-guard. Brito is pinned on the bottom and unable to scramble out. Sabatini with big shots from the top and is slamming his shoulder into Brito to keep him pinned on the mat. Sabatini with more punches from the top. He mixes to the body and head as the round ends. 10-9 Sabatini, 20-18 Sabatini.

Brito lands a right hand but is unable to stop Sabatini from taking him down. Brito looks for the neck but Sabatini is landing from the top. Sabatini with some elbows as he is keeping Brito pinned down on the mat. Sabatini with more shots from the top but he isn’t doing anything to try and finish it. Sabatini starts landing more shots as Brito gives up his back. Sabatini with more shots from the back and gets the mount and starts landing elbows. Brito stands with Sabatini on his back and Sabatini continues to land punches. Sabatini looks for a choke late but doesn’t have it locked in as time expires. 10-9 Sabatini, 30-27 Sabatini.

Official Result- Pat Sabatini def. Joanderson Brito by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

> Featherweights- #8 Josh Emmett (19-4, 10-4 UFC) vs. #10 Lerone Murphy (15-0-1, 7-0-1 UFC)

Murphy lands a right hand as Emmett connects to the body. Murphy lands a front kick to the body. Emmett connects with two right hands as they trade inside the pocket. Murphy lands an elbow that opens a small cut on Emmett. Emmett with a right hand to the body. The cut is now opened up more on Emmett. Murphy lands a body kick. Murphy lands a leg kick. Emmett lands a leg kick. Murphy with a calf kick. Emmett catches a Murphy kick and dumps him to the mat for a moment and lands a right hand as Murphy gets up. Close round. 10-9 Emmett.

They trade and Emmett looks up for a takedown. Emmett picks Murphy up and just drops him to the mat and Murphy got some air there. Emmett gets on top. They scramble up and Murphy lands to the body before they separate. Murphy with a spin kick to the body. Emmett grabs the body lock and has it against the fence. Murphy lands a knee to defend. Murphy with some more knees. They separate. Murphy with a stiff calf kick. Emmett lands a leg kick. Murphy with a body kick. Emmett connects with a right hand. 10-9 Murphy, 19-19.

They trade and Emmett throws some bombs and both land. Murphy with a pair of leg kicks. Murphy lands a side kick to the legs. Murphy lands a body kick. Murphy lands a grazing head kick. Murphy slips and Emmett grabs the neck and starts looking for a takedown as Murphy lands some elbows to defend. They trade and a brief timeout is called after Murphy lands an eye poke. Murphy lands a body kick. Murphy throws a high kick and Emmett grabs the leg and takes it down. They get to their feet. Murphy with a front kick right up the middle. 10-9 Murphy, 29-28 Murphy.

They trade in close range to start the fourth. Murphy lands a body kick. Murphy peppering the jab. Murphy lands a body kick. Emmett connects with a right hand. Emmett with another right hand. Emmett lands another. Murphy lands a calf kick. Murphy lands a body kick. Murphy with some side leg kicks. Murphy lands a body kick. Murphy lands a right hook. Emmett lands a big right hand. Emmett lands another as Murphy lands a leg kick. Emmett with two more right hands. Murphy with a front kick. Emmett looks for a takedown against the fence. Murphy lands an elbow to defend. 10-9 Emmett, 38-38.

Murphy with a jab and a head kick that Emmett partially blocks. Emmett lands a right hand. Emmett with a leg kick then a jab. Murphy lands a head kick. Emmett with a left hand to the body. Murphy lands a big left hand. Murphy lands a calf kick. Emmett lands a right hand against the fence and looks for a takedown. They separate and both are looking for openings. Murphy lands and Emmett stumbles. Emmett lands a combination. Murphy lands and circles away. Murphy with a spin kick. Emmett with a right hand. Close fight. 10-9 Murphy, 48-47 Murphy.

Official Result- Lerone Murphy def. Josh Emmett by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)