Lerone Murphy’s climb in the UFC featherweight division has been quiet, but his journey beyond the Octagon is anything but that. Long before he became one of the biggest names in the rankings, the Manchester native survived an incident that could have ended his life. More than a decade later, the physical reminder of that day is still with him—literally—a permanent souvenir from the incident in 2013 that he carries in the most unbelievable of places.

“Yeah, May 25th, a big change in my life, really,” he told UFC’s Megan Olivi. “I sat outside a barber’s shop with a few of my friends. It was actually my mum’s birthday as well that day, which is crazy.

“A car pulls up. It’s like everything happened in slow motion, almost. It’s like a weird day, really weird day. So a car pulls up anyway, starts shooting.”

Lerone Murphy recalled being hit in the face and not realizing what had happened at first.

“I just remember looking up, thinking, ‘What, I’m still alive?'” he continued. “And then, like, everything’s ringing, like, like Call of Duty. I don’t know if you play games, but in Call of Duty, when you get shot, everything, everything’s like ringing.

“So, I’m just sat there thinking, ‘Whoa, what’s going on there?’ I look again, and the car’s still there; the car’s still shooting.”

He then witnessed bullets hitting the ground next to him as the gunfire continued.

“I was blessed that day because I’m still here and I was safe,” he added. “Yes, I got shot through the face on the right-hand side, and the bullet’s lodged in my mouth.”

The injury caused permanent damage, and doctors were unable to remove all of the metal. Aptly nicknamed “The Miracle,” he stated that he felt something in his mouth right after the shooting. And as you might’ve guessed, it was a bullet inside. According to him, doctors later informed him that removing the remaining fragment would have done more harm than leaving it in.

“The doctor couldn’t take it out,” Lerone Murphy revealed. “He said it was like finding a needle in a haystack, so it would have caused more damage to take it out than you did.”

Even today, a bit of the bullet remains lodged in his tongue. When asked if he could feel it, the reply would surely make many squeamish.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s like a hard little thing.”

The experience became a turning point in his life. Following the incident, he found his way into MMA, began training in his early twenties, and started an unbeaten streak that has moved him close to a title fight in the UFC featherweight division.

Lerone Murphy says the Movsar Evloev fight could decide the next title challenger

After everything he went through before entering the UFC, Lerone Murphy feels his upcoming bout will propel him into the title picture. The unbeaten featherweight sees his bout against Movsar Evloev as more than just another main event, describing it as a contest that could decide the next challenger at 145 lbs.

Speaking ahead of UFC London, Murphy stated that the stakes are clear, even if the fight is not technically called a title eliminator.

“I think this fight should have been for the title, really,” Lerone Murphy told MMA Junkie. “But it’s a massive fight, and I think the winner goes on to be champion, for sure.”

He also mentioned that it is unusual to see two undefeated fighters clash this late in their careers.

“We don’t see this too often… undefeated versus undefeated,” he said. “You might get this on Contender Series or something when the guys are 7-0.”

With Alexander Volkanovski now without a confirmed opponent, Lerone Murphy expects the outcome to speak for itself. In his opinion, whoever wins and looks better on the night should be next in line, and he believes that a solid performance will be enough to earn that opportunity.