Miesha Tate dropping down to flyweight, will face Lauren Murphy in May
Just days after she posted a video detailing her dilemma about where she will fight next in her career, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has drawn an opponent in a new weight class. Last week, Tate discussed the situation she found herself in with her good friend Julianna Pena becoming the new bantamweight champion and revealed she was open to the possibility of moving down to the flyweight division.
It did not take long for the decision to be made, as it was reported this week that Tate will be dropping down to 125 pounds and face recent title challenger, Lauren Murphy at a UFC Fight Night card scheduled for May 14. Damon Martin of MMA Fighting was first to report the news of the Tate vs Murphy booking, with the original plan setting this fight for UFC 273 in April, but due to a conflict with the date, the fight has been moved to a Fight Night event in May.
Update: Looks like Tate vs Murphy is being moved to May 14. Apparently there was a conflict for the date in April so the new date is in May at a UFC Fight Night card instead. https://t.co/ZVlMEInGNs
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) January 11, 2022
Since making her return to the UFC for the second stint of her career, Tate has gone 1-1 while headlining her last event, a decision loss to Ketlen Vieira in November. She returned to action earlier in 2021 when she faced a retiring Marion Reneau and was able to secure a third-round TKO victory.
Before coming up short in her recent title fight against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, Lauren Murphy was blazing through the entire flyweight division. Murphy would compile a five-fight winning streak with notable wins over Andrea Lee, Roxanne Modafferi, Joanne Wood (Calderwood), among them.
A win against Miesha Tate would arguably be the biggest victory on the resume of Lauren Murphy and it sets the stage for a high-stakes matchup in the flyweight division. With the champion Shevchenko continuing to roll past all challengers put in front of her, the winner of Tate vs Murphy could wind up finding themselves a fight or two away from challenging for the title.
While keeping in mind that her close friend Julianna Pena is currently at the top of the women’s bantamweight division, Miesha Tate has made it clear that she has plans to contend, and win, the flyweight title in the future.
