Lauren Murphy has been doing this for a decade, and her veteran experience is finally starting to pay off.
Murphy (13-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) met up with a fellow veteran Saturday night in a flyweight bout when she faced Roxanne Modafferi. Murphy used a patient but effective approach to earn the unanimous decision on the undercard of UFC on ESPN 11.
The judges’ scores at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas were 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28, as Murphy won for the third consecutive time and fourth in her past five fights.
Murphy set the tone in the opening round, landing at a higher volume than her opponent. A clean right hand late in the round that stunned Modafferi (24-17 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was the round’s most telling blow.
Modafferi rebounded with her best round in the second. While Murphy wasn’t without her moments, Modafferi was the one who pressed the action, moved forward, outgrappled Murphy, and outworked her in the clinch.
Murphy, however, doubled down in the third round and appeared to be the fighter with more gas left in the tank. This time around, Murphy once again pressed the action, countered well when Modafferi tried to pick up the tempo, stymied her opponent’s grappling attempts, and added a late takedown to seal the deal.
The victory was the fifth via decision in Murphy’s career. Modafferi has now dropped two of her past three bouts.
Up to the minute UFC on ESPN 11 results:
- Lauren Murphy def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Austin Hubbard def. Max Rohskopf via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
