Manchester’s Murphy came into the bout with Pico sixth in the UFC’s featherweight rankings after winning eight successive fights in the promotion.
Despite his winning streak, Murphy’s reserved personality in comparison to some of his brash peers means he has sometimes failed to get the credit he deserves for his work in the octagon.
A lack of highlight reel moments, with Murphy earning five straight decision wins before facing Pico, also affected his star power.
But that all changed with his stunning knockout of Pico.
The American, who was making his UFC debut after building a daunting reputation in Bellator where he won 13 of 17 bouts, started strongly.
He applied the early pressure, landing combinations and takedowns with Murphy struggling to get off the back foot.
But after navigating the first three minutes, Murphy used Pico’s forward motion against him as he span around, landing a crisp elbow to deliver the knockout and send the American crashing to the floor.
“Pico is good, that’s the hardest first minutes I’ve ever had. But he was too aggressive and I used his aggression against him,” said Murphy.
UFC president Dana White often praises fighters who step up on short notice and he showed his appreciation immediately after the contest by granting Murphy a $50,000 (£36,900) performance-of-the-night bonus.
UFC commentator and former heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier later tipped Murphy for a title shot.
“It’s Lerone Murphy next because of what he did, landing the spinning elbow like that. Everyone else can wait in line,” said Cormier.
