Lerone Murphy vs Douglas Silva de Andrade set for Jan. 20 UFC event

Featherweight standouts Lerone Murphy and Douglas Silva de Andrade are expected to square off at a yet-unannounced UFC event scheduled for Jan. 20.

Multiple people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Fighting. A location hasn’t been confirmed, but the Jan. 20 event could take place at Fight Island as a part of the run-up to UFC 257 on Jan. 23. UFC President Dana White recently said the promotion sought to promote a trio of events in Abu Dhabi over a one-week period culminating with the pay-per-view card now expected to host Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2.

Murphy is less than five months removed from a first-round stoppage of Ricardo Ramos on Fight Island. It was the Brit’s first win and a welcome change after he fought to a split draw against Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 242.

Andrade, meanwhile, is getting back into the swing of things after a long layoff. The Brazilian picked up a huge win over ex-champ Renan Barao when he moved up to featherweight in his previous outing, which came in November 2019. But an injury forced him to withdraw from a scheduled fight against Movsar Evloev at UFC 248.