Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC flyweight Lauren Murphy is looking for a fight to propel her into the title picture.
After a bruising victory over Andrea Lee at UFC 247, ‘Lucky’ Lauren Murphy moved her pro-record to 12-4. That was Murphy’s second win in a row, she beat Mara Romero Borella by TKO last time out, and her third win in the UFC’s flyweight division.
After the win she spoke with the media about the hard-fought victory (video courtesy of MMA Fighting).
“I’m really proud of myself for, I know this sounds weird, but I’m really proud of myself for not quitting,” said the Alaskan, who saluted her opponent’s steel and ability to hurt her with a body shot in the first round. “I think that there’s a lot of people, even in the UFC, that would have been in a tough fight like that and would have folded.”
When talk moved onto who Murphy would like to face next, she had two names in mind.
“The only two women really, in the top five, that make any sense would be [Joanne Calderwood] or Roxanne [Modafferi] because, well Katlyn’s fighting tonight and Jennifer Maia and Jessica Eye have both missed weight. And, in my opinion — they missed weight by a lot, too, it’s not a half-a-pound miss, I think Maia missed by four and Eye missed by six — that’s not OK.”
“I expect to see my name in the top five after this fight, for sure. I think I proved tonight that I’m a top five fighter,” added Murphy.
Modafferi has already responded to Murphy’s challenge — in typical ‘Happy Warrior’ fashion. Modafferi stated online that she would take the fight only if Murphy made weight and didn’t step on her foot.
Heck yes, @LaurenMurphyMMA , I’ll absolutely fight you, as long as you make weight and promise not to step on my foot. #UFC #elbows ? @Mickmaynard2
— Roxanne Modafferi (@Roxyfighter) February 9, 2020
“Roxanne, you know I’m always going to make weight,” responded Murphy, with a smile. “What a thing to say! I can’t promise I won’t step on her foot, though.”
MMA pioneer, and occasional Bloody Elbow columnist, Roxanne Modafferi (24-16) impressed with a victory over the highly-touted Maycee Barber at UFC 246. She dominated Barber on route to a unanimous decision victory. Before that win she lost to Jennifer Maia in a catchweight bout (after Maia came in four lbs over). Modafferi, who competed on The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion alongside Murphy, has UFC wins over Antonina Shevchenko and Barb Honchak. She’s currently ranked 5th in the division.
Joanne Calderwood (14-4), who is ranked third, is also coming off a victory over Andrea Lee. She took a split decision over the American at UFC 242 last September. Prior to that she dropped a decision to Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 238. Before that loss she had back-to-back wins over Ariane Lipski and Kalindra Faria.