Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy axed from UFC 276

Miesha Tate’s highly anticipated move to 125 pounds won’t take place next weekend (Sat., July 2, 2022) at UFC 276.

As announced on the UFC Vegas 57 broadcast, Tate’s opponent, Lauren Murphy, has withdrawn from the bout due to “undisclosed reasons.” And, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Tate probably won’t remain on the International Fight Week card. Rather than match her up with someone else on short notice, UFC has rescheduled Tate vs. Murphy for UFC Long Island on July 16 (details here).

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Tate and Murphy were originally set to fight in the second bout of UFC 276’s pay-per-view (PPV) main card, after Sean O’Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz and before Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira. It was a pretty high profile placement and just another sign that UFC is looking to give Tate a push in her new weight class if she beats the No. 3-ranked Murphy.

Indeed, Murphy’s ranking is likely why Tate is more interested in keeping the fight together than accepting someone else and staying on the UFC 276 card. That’s because a win over the tough 15-5 veteran would vault her to the top of the division, where there’s few contenders left that haven’t already lost to champion Valentina Shevchenko.

UFC “Long Island” is headlined by Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega plus a slew of other exciting fighters. It could use the extra name recognition that Tate brings, though, given the fact that this is UFC’s third broadcast event with ABC. It will certainly be a busy event. Even without Tate vs. Murphy, there’s already 13 bouts assigned for UFC on ABC: “Ortega vs. Rodriguez.”

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 276 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ABC/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 276: “Adesanya vs. Cannonier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.