Lauren Murphy taking ‘time off’ after Valentina Shevchenko drubbing at UFC 266

UFC flyweight contender Lauren Murphy was chewed up and spit out by reigning 125-pound titleholder Valentina Shevchenko as part of the UFC 266 pay-per-view (PPV) event last Sat. night (Sept. 25, 2021) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Shevchenko ended the fight by way of fourth-round technical knockout.

“Rough night at the office,” Murphy, 38, wrote on social media. “I couldn’t do shit in there last night. Sometimes it just be like that. It was an honor to share the cage with a fighter of Valentina’s caliber. I am proud to have earned a spot across from her. Shit happens, but I’m okay. We live to fight another day. It was an amazing experience to fight for the UFC title, I’ll never forget it or regret it. I’ll be back but for now I want to enjoy some time off.”

The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak for the “Lucky” contender.

Shevchenko (22-3) has pretty much obliterated the Top 5 of her division, with the exception of Cynthia Calvillo (No. 5). And since Jessica Andrade stopped Calvillo at UFC 266, the chances of “Bullet” getting a fresh contender for her next title fight seem remote.

For more UFC 266 results and fallout click here.