Athletes
Lauren Murphy: 'I'm Really Proud Of My Career'
As Lauren Murphy Approaches Her Final Fight, The Former Title Challenger Feels At Peace With Leaving On Her Own Terms
Where have you been since January of 2023, Lauren Murphy?
“I've been in Houston. I started a couple businesses, I broke my ankle, I competed in jiu-jitsu a little bit, and that took about two years.”
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So just chilling out, basically.
Murphy laughs, days away from a return to the Octagon that, at times, she didn’t necessarily think was going to happen.
“There was a time where I was like, I don't know if I want to fight again, especially right after the fight,” said Murphy, whose last appearance was decision loss to Jessica Andrade on the UFC 283 card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “I was pretty disappointed in myself. So yeah, it took a while to kind of recover from that, just emotionally and mentally, and get my confidence back and stuff like that.”
Losing to a former world champion is nothing to hang one’s head about, especially when Murphy was coming off a win over a former world champion in Miesha Tate in her previous bout. But fighters are fighters, and any loss stings and makes you re-evaluate your place in the MMA world. So Murphy took her time to regroup, but as soon as she was ready for a fight, she broke her ankle.
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“It was kind of crazy because I came to Denver to train and the first day that I got here, I got a staph infection,” she said. “So I went home and treated that and I was like, I'm going to turn and burn, and I'm going to come right back. And so I did. And then the first day of the first practice, I broke my ankle. And so I was like, okay, the universe clearly doesn't want me fighting right now. I need to focus on some other things. And so I did.”
Murphy started her aquatic fitness business, Deep End Fitness, in her hometown of Houston, helped out with her husband Joe’s jiu-jitsu gym, and waited for the right time to return.
“Pretty soon, things just lined up perfectly to where it was like, okay, now I can do a camp and I can leave Houston for a while. Everything is in good hands, I'll be okay. And I came back, started training, and I've felt great ever since.”
And now she’s got a fight. This Saturday. In Nashville. Against Eduarda Moura. And it will be Murphy’s last.
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“I really wanted to come back and have a better performance than I had against Andrade,” said Murphy. “I made a lot of mistakes in that camp, I don't think I was nearly as focused as I should have been, and obviously that night I had a terrible performance. I'm lucky that I didn't get finished, and I kind of felt like if I left on that note, I didn't want to feel like I had left on somebody else's terms. I wanted to leave the sport on my terms and really just come back and have a good performance and do my best. And I didn't feel like that was even close to my best when I fought. And so that just didn't really sit right with me.”
So this weekend is a change to make things right and end matters by cementing her spot as one of the best flyweights of her era. Win or lose, the 41-year-old has done that, winning eight UFC fights and challenging Valentina Shevchenko for the 125-pound crown in 2021. It’s been a good run, but Murphy also knows that plans to retire can often change with a good final performance. She laughs, but she plans on sticking to her exit strategy.
“I know it always feels like that after you win,” she said. “It’s the hardest thing. But no, I really just want to come back and give my best effort. I want to have that feeling that I came in, I gave my best effort and I ended my fight career on my terms. I started it on my terms, I've lived it on my terms and I'm ending it on my terms. I have two fights left on my contract and I've always known I want to retire as a UFC fighter. I don't want to go fight anywhere else. I don't want to go backwards. I've always known that I want to end my career as a UFC fighter. That's where the best fighters in the world are. It's the best organization in the world. I've been in the top 10 forever, I've fought anybody who's anybody in the sport and I'm really proud of my career. And I just want to leave it on that note.”
And in true Jordan Belfort / Wolf of Wall Street fashion, she’s not leaving the sport. She may not be in the Octagon on fight night, but we’re not getting rid of “Lucky Lauren” anytime soon. And that’s a good thing.
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“I’m still going to be involved in the sport,” she said. “I'm still going to work out with the fighters. I'm still going to come give sparring rounds to people that need 'em. I am not going to be out of the gym and just gone. Maybe it's my last fight, but it's not the last time that I'm going to diet. It's not the last time that I'm going to spar. It's not the last time I'm going to see these people. And hopefully I'll be accompanying other fighters to fight week and still be going through this process, but just on the other side of the cage. So I'm looking forward to sharing my experience with up-and-coming fighters and giving everything I have to that end.”
Diet? Still?
“I'll still compete in jiu-jitsu and who knows what the universe has in store for me after this. The only thing I know is that whatever happens after this, I'm doing it a hundred percent. I've done everything a hundred percent my whole life. And so I don't see myself becoming this fat, lazy piece of s**t afterward. (Laughs) I still want to work out with the team. I still want to come in and keep acquiring new skills and yeah, for sure, I'm going to be doing jiu-jitsu.”
And while she’s been prepping for her last fight like it’s her first, that means she hasn’t been getting nostalgic in the gym about doing routines that she’ll never do again. There’s business to be taken care of. But there is one thing she’ll miss about being an active fighter that she hopes she gets to experience one more time.
“I'll miss hearing Bruce Buffer announce me as a winner and then turning around and seeing my name in the lights,” said Murphy. “That's definitely what I'm going to miss the most.”
UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Teixeira took place live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on July 12, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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