After more than a year on the shelf, Lauren Murphy is ready for one more go inside the Octagon.
The former flyweight title challenger will return to action on Saturday, July 12, when the UFC heads back to Nashville for another loaded Fight Night card in Music City. There, Murphy will square off with Brazilian standout Eduarda Moura in what will be her first fight since a devastating unanimous decision loss against Jessica Andrade all the way back in January 2023.
Speaking with James Lynch in a MiddleEasy exclusive interview, Murphy offered some insight into her lengthy layoff.
“After that fight, I was pretty sad,” Murphy said. “I definitely did not have the performance I thought I could have or was hoping to have. It took a while to recover from that mentally, so just looking back on what I did wrong in that camp and what I could do better next time, almost immediately after that fight, I came back to Texas and called a company called Deep End Fitness. They’re a worldwide company, but at the time, they were only in a few states, and I love their program.”
As it turns out, she wasn’t looking to simply join a new gym. Instead, she launched a brand new business venture.
“I got the LLC started. I got some locations set up. I got my coaching license through them to coach aquatics and my lifeguard certification, so I started an aquatics business, and I own Deep End Fitness Houston now, and we have a couple of different locations,” Murphy added.
“We also own a Henzo Gracie [jiu-jitsu gym], and my husband is the lead professor black belt there, so he’s there all the time. I help out there as much as I can. For a while, I was teaching a women’s class, helping to teach the kids, but it’s our gym. That’s our retirement.
“I feel really good about where I’m at in life. I feel really good about this fight, and I’m excited to go do it one more time, and I know when I come out on the other side, I have this amazing life waiting for me.”
As it turns out, Lauren Murphy was previously offered an opportunity to return at UFC 299 against surging flyweight sensation Karine Silva. ‘Lucky’ was happy to accept the fight, but after sitting on the sidelines for so long, she realized that it was going to take considerable effort to get back in shape.
“I went to the PI, and I was just too big to make weight,” Murphy said. “I was literally too fat to fight. I didn’t mean for it to happen that way, but it was Christmas and I’d been out for so long, so that really made me get my a** in gear. I started watching my diet and getting in better shape.
“I did ask the UFC for a fight, and they put me on the shelf for quite a while, I think because of the fight with Karine. ‘We offered you a fight, you took it, and then said you were too fat, so you’re gonna get put on the back burner for a while,’ which I was fine with.”
She continued, “It really motivated me to get my a** in shape, and I was like, ‘I’m going to ask the UFC for a fight and whatever they come up with, I’m just going to trust the universe that that’s what’s supposed to happen. Eventually, they did get back to me and asked if I wanted to fight in Nashville. I said, ‘Hell yeah.'”
Asked how she sees her fight with Eduarda Moura playing out this summer, Murphy plans on adding another big finish to her resume and going out the same way she came in.
“I see me getting a finish and going out all-in,” she said. “Going out the same way I came in—both middle fingers up.”
Lauren Murphy Hopes Valentina Shevchenko Beats ‘Boring’ Manon Fiorot at UFC 315
While Lauren Murphy may be ready to walk away from MMA as a competitor, the flyweight division has never been more intriguing with the re-emergence of Valentina Shevchenko.
‘Bullet’ reclaimed the 125-pound crown in September via a dominant showing against Alex Grasso and is now set to defend her title against the always dangerous Manon Fiorot at UFC 315 on May 10.
“I hope she beats Manon,” Murphy said when asked about the co-main event clash between Shevchenko and Fiorot. “I mean, Manon is big and strong. She’s a good kickboxer, but kickboxing is Valentina’s game. So is the clinch. Valentina is just good everywhere. I think Manon’s size and strength may give Valentina some problems because Valentina is kinda small for the division, but I’m really hoping Valentina takes it. I really like having Valentina as champion, and honestly, I think Manon is kinda boring.
“I would hate to see her be the champ because she’s just like, stick and move, stick and move. It would be 25 minutes of stick and move for every title defense. I’m not thrilled to watch that as a fan. As a fighter, she’s great, but I would rather watch Valentina fight.”
Additionally, Lauren Murphy believes that Shevchenko may have gotten a little too comfortable during her first title reign, leading to her stunning submission loss against Grasso at UFC 285.
“I think her losing to Alexa [Grasso] was one of the best things that could have happened to Valentina, because she’d been a champ for so long, and she probably did get really comfortable,” Murphy added. “I think Alexa took that away from her like, ‘Hey b*tch, you can’t get comfortable.’ Just watching Valentina in her next performance, I think she took that lesson to heart.”
One person who will have a close eye on Shevchenko vs. Fiorot will be reigning strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili. After another dominant defense against Tatiana Suarez, Zhang is primed for a move to flyweight, challenging either Shevchenko or Fiorot, whichever comes out on top.
“F*ck yeah, dude! Who doesn’t want to watch Weili fight?” Murphy said, gushing with glee over the idea. “I love watching her a** fight, so anything she’s fighting, I’m tuning in, even if it’s in my division. I was in the top five. I did all that—fought my way there, and nobody can ever take away from the fact that I was a top-five fighter for whatever amount of time. I was really good, and I’m so excited to end my career and go be a fan.
“The girls are so good, the fights are fun to watch most of the time, but the top five is exciting, and if Weili was in there, holy sh*t—what a division it would be.”
Check out the full exclusive interview below:
