Over the weekend at UFC 263, Lauren Murphy scored a split decision win over Joanne Calderwood, putting her in title contention. However she is not happy with how that fight played out.
Heading into the fight, Murphy was upfront with the fact that she needed an impressive performance to get the next crack at UFC gold. While she looked good in her win over Calderwood, it was not the dominant performance she wanted.
Lauren won the contest against the former title challenger, but it was a split decision win. Speaking with MiddleEasy, she explained that she did not agree with the judges saying that she felt like she pretty clearly won the bout.
“I was actually surprised when they said split decision because I was like ‘We won the first round.’ I thought in the moment that we won the first round, and then I went back and I watched the fight — I watched it twice now — it looks like I won every exchange in the first round,” Murphy said.
“I thought the first round was all me, the second round was clearly all me. I came really close to finishing her. I really wanted to have that kind of performance, where I go in and finish a title challenger.”
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Lauren Murphy Wants Valentina Shevchenko
Despite not having the performance she wanted, it seems that Lauren Murphy is next for the title. This is something that Dana White suggested to be the case in the post-fight press conference after UFC 263.
That being said, Lauren has not heard word from Dana herself, to confirm that she will face Valentina Shevchenko. However her manager seemed to be happy, and she hopes to work something out for a fight with the champ this October.
“I haven’t really talked to anybody,” Murphy explained. “My manager Lou was at the fight, we hung out afterwards, and he was all smiles. It is true, I can’t say yes Dana said we’re getting the title shot, but he did say probably at the press conference, he said that’s probably going to happen.
“It’s like, honestly, what would you say? I’ve won five in a row. Not only does nobody in the division have a resume like that, but hardly anybody in the UFC goes on such long winning streaks, over the caliber of opponent I’ve been facing. I’ve faced women in the top ten consistently at 125, and I’m beating them, I’m constantly getting my hand raised against them. I’ve just put myself in a position where I feel like I can’t get ignored now.”
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That said, Lauren Murphy is confident in her chances against Valentina. Despite how dominant the champ has been, she thinks that she has the best resume out of anyone that the champ has faced at flyweight.
Moreover, she says that she has a size advantage over the champ. She is riding the confidence of her winning streak heading into this fight, and thinks that she provides a tough out for anyone, even Shevchenko.
“I think she hasn’t faced anybody like me before. I am a big flyweight, and I’m ungodly strong. There’s some intangibles in fighting that people overlook, things like heart-ness, and toughness, durability, things like that. Those are all attributes in my favor, one hundred percent,” Murphy said.
“That’s what makes me a tough fight, and that’s why I keep coming out with these victories. It is attributes like that, that make me such a great fighter, and a good fighter like Valentina, she can recognize those kinds of attributes, which is why I think that’s why she’s been saying my name for a while now.”
Do you want to see Lauren Murphy fight for the title next? How would a fight with her and Valentina Shevchenko play out?
