UFC 266: Valentina Shevchenko finishes Lauren Murphy with fourth-round flurry to retain flyweight title
- Champion re-emphasises her class with a dominant display against American challenger in co-main event
- ‘I’m ready for anyone. I always say, no matter the weight class, no matter anything, I’m ready, I’m here, I’m the champion,’ Shevchenko says
Valentina Shevchenko again re-emphasised the vast gulf in class between herself and the rest of the flyweight division, stamping her authority all over Saturday night’s UFC 266 co-main event with a fourth-round TKO of Lauren Murphy.
The Peruvian-Kyrgyzstani “Bullet” (22-3) controlled proceedings from the off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, dominating the first three rounds against her American challenger (15-5), who had put together a fine five-fight win streak to earn her title shot.
But Murphy’s championship opportunity came to a frustrating end. Shevchenko hurt her with a check right hook before chasing her down and unloading with a huge flurry, pouring it on with big shots and finishing it with a barrage of elbows on the ground.
“I just started to elbow, elbow, elbow – I knew the finish was coming soon,” the 33-year-old told Daniel Cormier in her post-fight interview in the Octagon.
“It feels amazing,” Shevchenko added. “It’s the best feeling. Everyone who doesn’t believe in marital arts, you’re wrong because it’s the best feeling.”