Lauren Murphy releases statement on UFC 266 loss to Valentina Shevchenko
Lauren Murphy plans to take some time off after suffering a lopsided loss to UFC flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 266.
Murphy on Sunday released a statement about the fight, calling it “a rough night at the office” and backing her corners for their positive reinforcement between rounds.
“They just kept it simple and positive, like I asked them to,” she wrote. “I can’t stand it when corners rush in and scream at a fighter about how they’re losing rounds… I know when I’m losing rounds and I knew I needed to make something happen. I couldn’t make it happen due to getting hit every time I tried. As the great Chael P Sonnen once said, “The problem is, I was in there with a much better fighter tonight.”
UFC commentators took notice when Murphy’s corners told her she was doing a great job, contradicting Shevchenko’s total domination in every area of the fight. After getting wobbled by a right hook in the fourth round, Murphy succumbed to a series of elbows from the champ. The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak that earned “Lucky” a shot at the belt.
“It was an amazing experience to fight for the UFC title, I’ll never forget it or regret it,” she wrote. “I’ll be back but for now I want to enjoy some time off.”
Shevchenko, meanwhile, notched her sixth title defense. Afterward, she signaled she was ready for a trilogy with two-division champ Amanda Nunes, the only opponent that’s bested her in the octagon.
Check out Murphy’s full statement below.
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