Valentina Shevchenko vs Lauren Murphy: Lauren to survive

UFC 266 is to see Valentina Shevchenko defend her title for the 5th time in the women's flyweight division. Her opponent is Lauren Murphy.

Valentina Shevchenko has beaten everyone in this division and Lauren Murphy is the last in line. There's no one else to fight and we'll have to arrange a rematch with Amanda Nunes or else close the division.

The 33-year-old Kyrgyz representative has 20 wins (7 by knockout, 7 by submission) and 3 losses in her professional MMA record. The first defeat was in 2014 (the refusal to continue the fight), and the next two were handed by Amanda Nunes (both questionable).

Her last opponent was Jéssica Andrade, who had been expected to put up some fight against the champion. However, the result was the same as always, Shevchenko doing the usual stuff, beating at the ground, then standing up, and so on until the referee stopped the fight, saving Jessica's health.

Lauren Murphy is frankly expecting the same thing.

"I would say Lauren is a well-rounded fighter. She's an MMA fighter, so she can do everything. Lauren has good wrestling, great defense on the ground, and she's solid in stand-up fighting. It's all great, but all the opponents she's faced have been different. I'll give Lauren credit because I respect her. I know she's a very dangerous opponent, but my mission is to destroy her."

Valentina Shevchenko

Murphy is a real veteran of the promotion who hasn’t had a stable career most of the time. But lately, she's kind of raised to the top, winning 5 times in a row. She’s actually earned the honest chance to face Valentina, and it will be considered a success for her to meet the final gong on her feet.

The 38-year-old American has 15 wins (8 by KO, 1 by submission) and 5 losses (all by decision) in the overall professional MMA record.

Lauren’s accomplishments:

• ACF Women's Featherweight Champion (2011);
• Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion (2013);
• Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

I'll be rooting for Lauren Murphy to survive. What gives me a little hope (and high odds) is that Murphy has never lost early. It's possible that now, even Valentina Shevchenko will have a hard time finishing her. But betting on Bullet for odds of 1.05, as 1xbet and some other bookmakers offer, is ridiculous.