RIO DE JANEIRO – Lauren Murphy thinks the idea of beating Valentina Shevchenko isn’t as inconceivable as it once was.
Murphy (16-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), who returns to action against Jessica Andrade (23-9 MMA, 14-7 UFC) in a key women’s flyweight bout on Saturday at UFC 283, already had her crack at dominant divisional titleholder Shevchenko (23-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC), but to no avail.
Shevchenko earned a fourth-round TKO over Murphy at UFC 266 in September 2021, but in her next fight nearly lost the belt. She edged out a split decision over Taila Santos at UFC 275 in June 2022 and went down to the wire in a bout many fans, fighters and media think she lost.
It’s Murphy’s ultimate goal to get back to another title shot, and while Shevchenko looked untouchable going into their first encounter, Murphy has a different perspective now.
“I thought Taila won that fight,” Murphy told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 283 media day. “I think it definitely showed she’s human. But everyone is beatable. Everyone has good days and bad days. Nobody wins forever in this sport. Nobody stays undefeated. Nobody wins forever. There’s a couple guys that retired on top, but I just don’t think Valentina’s different from any other human being on the planet. She’s not going to win forever. She’s not going to be the champ forever. She definitely faced some adversity in her last fight, and I think everybody noticed.”
Murphy meets Andrade on the main card of UFC 283, which airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC and ESPN+. It’s a critical fight for the 125-pound weight class, especially with Shevchenko recently calling upon contenders to come for her belt.
The upside of a potential win over Andrade is significant, but Murphy said it’s important for her to keep focus on completing the mission, and not what the fallout could be.
“I don’t see why not,” Murphy said of a potential title shot with a win. “I haven’t even thought about it. We’ll have to see what the fight goes and what’s going to happen before we start talking about what’s going to happen afterward.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283.
