GLENDALE, Ariz. – Lauren Murphy knows she has to put a stamp on Joanne Calderwood at UFC 263 if she wants to secure the next women’s flyweight title shot.
Murphy (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is currently riding a four-fight winning streak and will look to make it five on Saturday when she meets Calderwood (15-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in a high-stakes bout for the division at Gila River Arena. The bout airs on the televised prims prior to the pay-per-view main card.
With no clear-cut No. 1 contender to champion Valentina Shevchenko at the moment, most have circled Murphy vs. Calderwood as the bout that will determine who is on deck. Murphy said just skirting by with a close decision won’t do it for her, though. She has to make it definitive.
“I think it all depends on what happens Saturday night, it depends what happens with my performance,” Murphy told a reporter, including MMA Junkie, at UFC 263 media day on Wednesday. “If me and ‘JoJo’ go out and just have a fight where we look at each other, then no. It has to be a good performance.”
Fortunately for Murphy, she thinks Calderwood is a matchup that can bring out that dominant performance. She’s not overlooking her fellow contender by any means, but when she plays out the fight in her head, she sees Calderwood’s strengths playing perfectly into her hands.
You can watch the media day interview above.
