Oleksandr Usyk delivers emotional tribute to his late father following epic win over Tyson Fury: ‘I know he’s here’

Oleksandr Usyk delivers emotional tribute to his late father following epic win over Tyson Fury: 'I know he's here'It was an emotional night for Oleksandr Usyk. Stepping inside the ring for a long-awaited unification clash with Tyson…

Oleksandr Usyk delivers emotional tribute to his late father following epic win over Tyson Fury: 'I know he's here'

It was an emotional night for Oleksandr Usyk.

Stepping inside the ring for a long-awaited unification clash with Tyson Fury, the Ukrainian superstar defied the odds and handed ‘The Gypsy King’ the first loss of his career, securing a split decision victory to become the undisputed unified heavyweight world champion.

Oleksandr Usyk

Addressing members of the media following his 22nd career win, ‘The Cat’ was understandably emotional, particularly when talking about his father who died shortly after his Olympic victory in 2012.

“I miss my father… I said to my father, ‘Hey, listen. You live there, I live here. Please, no coming for me. I love you.’ I know he’s here,” an emotional Usyk said with the support of those in attendance.

Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter believes the referee saved Tyson Fury in round nine

After falling behind early, Oleksandr Usyk poured it on in the later rounds and even scored a knockdown in the ninth round after Fury used the ropes to keep himself upright following an onslaught of strikes from his opponent. Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk suggested that the referee essentially screwed his fighter out of a knockout, saying:

“I believe the referee saved Tyson from a knockout and stole the ninth-round knockout, which should have happened,” Krassyuk said.

Oleksandr Usyk

However, Usyk wasn’t overly concerned with the ruling, especially since he walked away with the biggest win of his career regardless.

“No knock-out, no problem,” Usyk added. “I don’t think about it because we had a win.”

With a rematch clause built into their contract, we will likely see Usyk and Fury step back inside the squared circle later this year with rumors already swirling that the two will run it back in Riyadh this October.

Bonuses! Hill Banks $50K For First-Career Submission

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Lerone Murphy punched his ticket to the featherweight top 15 earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2024) at UFC Vegas 92 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, a…


UFC Fight Night: Pinheiro v Hill
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Lerone Murphy punched his ticket to the featherweight top 15 earlier tonight (Sat., May 18, 2024) at UFC Vegas 92 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, after putting on a five-round offensive display against veteran contender Edson Barboza.

In addition to the featherweight beatdown, UFC Vegas 92 played host to collection of memorable performances and finishes. Check them out below and let us know your thoughts!

  • Melissa Gatto stepped up on short notice to stop a two-fighting losing skid with a third-round TKO stoppage over Tamires Vidal
  • Undefeated French prospect Oumar Sy scored an impressive submission finish over fellow UFC newcomer Tuco Tokkos (see HERE)
  • Women’s strawweight veteran Angela Hill improved her record to 4-1 over her past five UFC appearances with a slick guillotine choke over Luana Pinheiro
  • Bantamweight contender Adrian Yanez got back into the 135-pound win column when he steamrolled Vinicius Salvador with a nasty first-round TKO
  • Welterweight finisher Khaos Williams secured another knockout finish with a blistering first-round stoppage against Carlston Harris

To sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC Vegas 92 post-fight bonus winners below:

  • Fight of the Night: Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Performance of the Night: Khaos Williams
  • Performance of the Night: Angela Hill

For complete UFC Vegas 92 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Lerone Murphy dominates Edson Barboza, stays undefeated with unanimous decision win – UFC Vegas 92 Highlights

Lerone Murphy dominates Edson Barboza, stays undefeated with unanimous decision win - UFC Vegas 92 HighlightsManchester’s own Lerone Murphy delivered a star-making performance in the UFC Vegas 92 headliner on Saturday night. Gunning for…

Lerone Murphy dominates Edson Barboza, stays undefeated with unanimous decision win - UFC Vegas 92 Highlights

Manchester’s own Lerone Murphy delivered a star-making performance in the UFC Vegas 92 headliner on Saturday night.

Gunning for his first win against a ranked contender, Murphy was tasked with taking on Octagon icon and 35-fight veteran Edson Barboza inside The APEX in Las Vegas. From the get-go, Murphy had the advantage on the feet, forcing Barboza to bite on his feints and land at will with the right hand.

Murphy survived a scary moment in the waning seconds of the opening round when he ate a vicious upkick from Barboza that had him rocked and appeared to break his nose. Despite the moment of adversity, Murphy came back in round two and delivered a near-perfect fight for the next four rounds. After five rounds of action, Murphy had outstruck ‘Junior’ 259 to 79. On top of that, ‘The Miracle’ landed four of six takedowns clocking more than five minutes of control time.

Needless to say, Murphy ran away with it on the scorecards, bagging his 14th career victory and sixth win under the UFC banner.

Official Result: Lerone Murphy def. Edson Barboza via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)

Lerone Murphy

Check Out Highlights From Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy at UFC Vegas 92: 

Lerone Murphy dominates Edson Barboza, stays undefeated with unanimous decision win – UFC Vegas 92 Highlights

Lerone Murphy dominates Edson Barboza, stays undefeated with unanimous decision win - UFC Vegas 92 HighlightsManchester’s own Lerone Murphy delivered a star-making performance in the UFC Vegas 92 headliner on Saturday night. Gunning for…

Lerone Murphy dominates Edson Barboza, stays undefeated with unanimous decision win - UFC Vegas 92 Highlights

Manchester’s own Lerone Murphy delivered a star-making performance in the UFC Vegas 92 headliner on Saturday night.

Gunning for his first win against a ranked contender, Murphy was tasked with taking on Octagon icon and 35-fight veteran Edson Barboza inside The APEX in Las Vegas. From the get-go, Murphy had the advantage on the feet, forcing Barboza to bite on his feints and land at will with the right hand.

Murphy survived a scary moment in the waning seconds of the opening round when he ate a vicious upkick from Barboza that had him rocked and appeared to break his nose. Despite the moment of adversity, Murphy came back in round two and delivered a near-perfect fight for the next four rounds. After five rounds of action, Murphy had outstruck ‘Junior’ 259 to 79. On top of that, ‘The Miracle’ landed four of six takedowns clocking more than five minutes of control time.

Needless to say, Murphy ran away with it on the scorecards, bagging his 14th career victory and sixth win under the UFC banner.

Official Result: Lerone Murphy def. Edson Barboza via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)

Lerone Murphy

Check Out Highlights From Edson Barboza vs. Lerone Murphy at UFC Vegas 92: 

Split?!? Usyk Refuses To Be Denied In Stellar Win

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Here’s what you may have missed! Last night (Sat., May 18, 2024), Oleksandr Usyk defeat Tyson Fury to become undisputed Heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By most any stand…


Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk: Ring Of Fire - Fight Night
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Here’s what you may have missed!

Last night (Sat., May 18, 2024), Oleksandr Usyk defeat Tyson Fury to become undisputed Heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

By most any standards, Usyk vs. Fury was a great fight. Really, there wasn’t any controversy either, as Usyk was able to win long portions of the bout and score a knockdown. His success and performance would generally result in a clear-cut victory, but this is boxing, so Usyk was named the winner via split-decision.

As is usually the case between high-level champions, both athletes brought game plans into the ring with them. For Usyk, his strategy was obvious from the first bell. He wanted to press Fury into the fence and work the body with his left hand, dulling Fury to that inevitable moment when the left looped upstairs instead. Conversely, Fury opted to work the outside. He anticipated Usyk’s pressure, and his antidote was to flash the jab, feint actively, and sneak counter shots up the middle.

What’s really fun is that we saw both game plans work! For most of the first three rounds, Uysk’s pressure and volume were the deciding factors. He committed himself fully to the body work, and when he did take his left hand high, it tended to land a result. In rounds four through six, however, Fury’s game plan really took over. His probing jab allowed him to start timing Usyk with heavy uppercuts, and when Usyk hesitated for a moment, Fury was able to unleash his own ripping body shots to great effect.

Through six rounds, it was almost perfectly even. Fury entered the latter half of the fight with all the momentum on his side, yet just a few minutes later, he was nearly unconscious. The bell saved him, but Fury wouldn’t find all that much success in the final 18 minutes of combat.

What was the deciding factor?

To my eye, the primary difference was focus. Usyk kept his eyes on the prize for the entirety of 36 minutes, whereas Fury sought moments to take his foot off the gas. I’m not even talking about Fury’s habit of dropping his hands and showboating — that’s standard “Gypsy King” antics. Instead, I’m pointing to the little moments, the times Fury opted to stand against the ropes rather than work off immediately. How about the start of almost every round? Each time the bell rang, Usyk stepped down the middle with a serious left hand swing.

In a fight where both men had strong moments and viable paths to victory, Usyk’s utter focus and determination won him the fight. He utterly refused to take his foot off the gas. Even when met with adversity and hard counters, Usyk doubled down and pressed harder. He was always inching Fury down the path that would lead to an Usyk victory, and that’s a lot easier said than done against a world-class opponent.

Championship mettle was on display.