UFC flyweight contender Lauren Murphy spoke to Mike Heck from MMA Fighting and opined on her standing in the division. ‘Lucky’ is on a five-fight win streak and is coming off a split decision victory over Joanne Calderwood. The fight was a title eliminator or sorts and Murphy came out on top to stake her claim at future title contention.
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Murphy was fired up when talking about her place in the division. She is exclusively looking at a title shot next. ‘Lucky’ believes she’s put in the work as a contender and is keen to cash in on her opportunity to fight for gold.
“It is the belt for us next,” Murphy said. “Tatiana Suarez can come up to 125, let her win five in a row and then she can get a shot at the belt. Let her fight the people that I’ve fought and come out with the victories that I’ve come out with and see how that goes…. Really, I’ve never been shut down, I’ve never been rocked, I’ve never even been close to being finished. Nobody’s ever whupped my a**. I don’t know why people tend to overlook that, but I’m a f**king tank.”
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“I really do believe in my coaches and they believe in me,” Murphy said. “I think we can find holes in Valentina’s game and I think I’m strong enough to exploit them. I think I’m tough enough to get to where I need to go with her. She hasn’t faced anybody as tough as me. She hasn’t faced anybody that can grind like I can grind.” [h/t MMA Fighting]
Lauren Murphy: Singularly focused
There aren’t many contenders in the 125-pound women’s division who are chomping at the bit to fight Valentina Shevchenko. However, Lauren Murphy has been ready to tackle the seemingly invincible champion for a while now.
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 24: (L-R) Lauren Murphy punches Liliya Shakirova of Uzbekistan in their women’s flyweight bout during the UFC 254 event on October 24, 2020 on UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Lauren Murphy has a well-rounded skill set that has been enough to pose problems for her opponents in the past. However, Shevchenko has shown time and again that she’s operating at a higher level than her opponents.
Despite her impressive win streak, it will take a comprehensive effort by Murphy to finally dethrone ‘The Bullet’. Shevchenko vs Murphy is definitely a fight that fans want to see next as it makes sense from a rankings perspective.
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