Lauren Murphy’s road back to a title shot continues at UFC 283.
The #4 flyweight contender would rebound from her loss to longtime queen Valentina Shevchenko with a win over former bantamweight champ Miesha Tate. Following the win, Murphy is now set to take on a former strawweight champ in Jessica Andrade next month in Brazil.
To Murphy, this is just another challenge for her career. It’s one that would have her head up high if she wins, especially going into a potential rematch with Shevchenko for not only a title, but redemption as well.
“This is really the next step up for me,” Murphy told Middle Easy. “I think about that fight with Valentina. It’s a hard thing for me to think about honestly. That was such a bad, bad night and just a terrible camp. When I came out of that, it was like, I need to step it up. Like I need to show the world that that wasn’t me.”
“When I fought Miesha, I made a point to show the world how much I’d grown and to show them that thing against Valentina was not me in there. Once I fought Miesha, it was like, ‘damn, did I even get hit in that fight’? I don’t think she got not to even one good position the whole fight or anything. So, I need the next challenge, like another challenge, another step up, a big step up, something that’ll challenge me and really build my confidence and give me some good experience.”
That ‘big step up’ for Murphy would come in the form of Andrade, who is coming off two impressive first-round finishes over Amanda Lemos and Cynthia Calvillo.
“Jessica Andrade is a former champion in another weight class and after I beat her, I’ll have beat two former champions, one in the weight class above one in the weight class below.
“My confidence will be a lot higher,” Murphy added. “I’ll have had that high-level experience. I’ll have taken on a fight that nobody else wanted. This is all just a process for me to get back to the belt and become a champion myself.”
Murphy Wants To ‘Go Out There And Get Her F*cking Respect Right Away’
Beating ‘Bate Estaca’ is easier said than done. But, Murphy believes she has the right game plan to get her hand raised against Andrade. It doesn’t involve slugging it out with the knockout artist for three rounds, because Murphy plans to show good she is, not how tough she is.
“I think it’s just important to go out there and get her f*cking respect right away,” Murphy continued. “Make her start fighting my fight. She’s a big power puncher, so she wants to counter, she likes to slip her head and then jump in with them big hooks. She puts everything into her shots because she knows she’s got a lot of knockouts and she knows what kind of power she’s carrying.
“I’m not gonna sit in the pocket and trade with her. You all know how tough I am. I don’t need to go out there and show you guys how tough I am. I’m gonna go out there and show you how good I am.”
“I see the crowd giving me a chant when I walk out,” Murphy envisioned. “They’re gonna gimme the [you’re going to die] chant and then they’re gonna be real quiet when I walk back after I get my hand raised.”
Watch our full interview with Lauren Murphy below.
