Lauren Murphy can’t wait to show the world her improved fighting skills at UFC 266
By Nicole Bosco
Lauren Murphy is eyeing the UFC flyweight belt as she prepares to take on champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Lauren Murphy has a tough test in front of her as she prepares to take on UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko has won seven fights in a row, including winning the belt, some, including herself, think she is unstoppable. Murphy is out to prove that she can be the one to stop Shevchenko and spoke to the media on Wednesday before the fight to explain why she thinks that.
“It’s not like she has these big glaring weaknesses that I’m like ‘oh yeah, I can take advantage of that for sure,’ but, everybody’s human, everybody has habits and things that are exploitable,” Murphy said during UFC 266 media day. “Everybody has weaknesses and anybody that thinks they don’t have a weakness, that in itself is a great weakness.”
Murphy fought her way up to this title shot by beating some of the best women at 125 pounds. With five wins in a row and two stoppage victories, Murphy has proven that she is tough to beat. She knows that Shevchenko is the favorite and that she is a dominant champion, but Murphy is confident she can solve the puzzle that is Valentina Shevchenko.
“Everybody makes mistakes and at this level that’s what we are looking at,” Murphy said. “What habits does she have? What area can we take this fight where I feel the most comfortable? What sequences do I want to accomplish in this fight? When I watch Valentina, of course, she’s a great fighter, of course, she’s well rounded, that is what makes her such a formidable opponent and such a dominant champion but I’m really good in every area of the fight too. I can’t wait to show you guys how good I’ve gotten.”
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