Lauren Murphy - Photo by Vincent Carchietta - USA Today Sports
Lauren Murphy says she should’ve pulled out of Valentina Shevchenko title fight due to an infection
Lauren Murphy finally got her first crack at UFC gold but she says she shouldn’t have even made the walk.
Murphy was set to fight Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title at UFC 266, and although it was a massive career moment for her, she says she wishes she would’ve withdrawn as she was not healthy.
“I should have withdrawn from that fight,” Murphy said at media day. I should not have been in the Octagon that night. I should not have been in the hotel that week. I should not have been in the (UFC Performance Institute) with other athletes that week. I 100 percent wish I had withdrawn from that fight.”
Lauren Murphy says she contracted clostridioides difficile, which is a bacterial infection of the large intestine. ‘Lucky’ says she was very weak and mentally drained from it and was in no shape to compete. However, she thought she couldn’t miss her chance of fighting for the belt so she decided to make the walk to the Octagon.
“I thought that showing up to the fight was the most important thing,” Murphy said. “‘Just get to the fight, just get to the fight, don’t miss your chance.’ And that’s not true. That was a big mistake… When I fought Valentina, physically I was not in a place where I could compete at all, much less at my best. It was a very poor performance. I learned that you don’t show up to fights unable to compete. The most important thing is the performance. The most important thing is my health.”
Murphy ended up losing by fourth-round TKO and she will now return at UFC Long Island against Miesha Tate. It’s a massive fight for Murphy as she is fighting a former champion and should she win, she would be right back in the title picture at flyweight and get another crack at Shevchenko.
