Morning Report: Lauren Murphy fights off corner criticism after rough UFC 283 loss: ‘Miss me with this double standard B.S.’

Lauren Murphy has had it with the reactions to her loss this past weekend in Brazil.

“Lucky” made the trip to Rio de Janeiro for a big UFC 283 flyweight bout against her fellow one-time title challenger in the weight class, Jessica Andrade. Unfortunately, the result was a brutal one as Murphy was battered for three straight rounds by the former strawweight champion en route to a unanimous decision loss.

Two of the judges who scored the fight awarded Andrade two 10-8 scores while the other awarded her just one. Murphy was outstruck by “Bate Estaca” 237 strikes to 103, according to UFC Stats. A case could have been made for scoring all three rounds 10-8s, but to go even further, several within the MMA community believed it should have been stopped at some point, whether by the referee of Murphy’s corner.

“All the podcasters and fans screeching about ‘LAurEn MurPhy NeEds A neW CoRnER’ and ‘TheY ShOuLd ThRow In ThE ToWeL’ [eye roll, middle finger, and peace sign emojis],” Murphy tweeted. “Is anyone arguing that Glover [Teixeira’s] corner should have stopped it? I saw him after the fights and he looked way worse than me. Both his eyes are closed and he took a ton of unanswered shots.

“What about when Brian Ortega got a boxing lesson in the middle of the fight from Max [Holloway]? Look at Darren Elkins’ entire career. It’s a fistfight. Sometimes we get beat up. Sometimes it might make you uncomfortable. That is your problem.

“Where were these people when Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] looked like f****** Megamind in her fight with [Zhang] Weili??” she continued. “If they’re concerned for safety, why weren’t they screaming for her to be pulled? Competitive or not, shouldn’t her ‘safety’ have come first? Miss me with this double standard B.S.”

Like Murphy, former UFC light heavyweight titlist Glover Teixeira was also on the receiving end of a majorly one-sided beatdown that saw each judge give his opponent Jamahal Hill a 10-8 in at least one of their five rounds. Ultimately, it was a rough night for the three oldest fighters on the card in Murphy (39), Shamil Abdurakhimov (41), and Teixeira (43). Only the last of which retired on the night.

“I signed up for this!” Murphy said. “I got beat up, not murdered! I have two black eyes today and that’s it. I’m gonna be just fine. Getting my ass kicked is part of the job sometimes! I’m okay with it and if you’re an MMA fan you should be too.

“I was responsive in the corner, not slouched over or disheartened. I told my corner I would do what they wanted, and I tried like hell to make it happen. I didn’t have some of the tools I need to make it happen, but that doesn’t mean I should have been pulled like, ‘You don’t have a chance.’”

Fighter safety has become a further highlighted topic with each new year in MMA. Throwing in the towel is still a tough and tricky concept for some and there are several reasons to be argued for and against it. Whether with cases like Murphy’s or a T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280, who went into his fight with Aljamain Sterling having his team know he was unfit to compete.

Either way, it’s a lose-lose position to be in, and Murphy sees no chance of things changing any time soon.

“I can’t stand it when people say, ‘She had no chance of winning, so just stop the fight,’” Murphy said. “Where is the spirit of competition in that?? Y’all drive me nuts because we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t!

“Cynthia Calvillo’s corner called it and y’all messaged her to kill herself. I’m so over people criticizing my corner. I changed it after the Valentina [Shevchenko] fight and it’s still not enough for you. It’s more than enough for me. These guys are some of the best coaches I’ve ever had. I’m so grateful they let me fight until the end. I AM tough and for me, it’s a joy to display my heart to the whole world. Most of you won’t have any idea what I’m talking about, and that’s fine.

“Most media and half the fans will find a way to s*** on it, as they have for most of my career,” she concluded. “I’ve never let it deter me before and I won’t now. Tell y’all what. When you guys compete and coach at a high enough level that you end up in the corner of a Top 5 UFC fight, you guys can corner any way you want.”

Return. John Kavanagh ‘very, very confident’ Conor McGregor fights in 2023, reveals what he wants most in an opponent

Comeback. Ex-UFC champ Luke Rockhold announces free agency: ‘I want to go and f*** some people up’

Surprise. UFC vet Eric Spicely says Power Slap League pay ‘f****** nuts’

Suspensions. Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira both suffer broken noses

Persistence. Sayif Saud: Brandon Moreno suffered ‘serious’ knee injury prior to UFC 283 title win

Rankings. Jamahal Hill is a UFC champion — does that make him MMA’s No. 1 light heavyweight?

Redemption. Charles Oliveira targets Islam Makhachev rematch in late 2023: ‘I had 10 minutes off on a bad night’

Silly. Floyd Mayweather books next exhibition bout against ex-Bellator fighter, reality TV star Aaron Chalmers

The MMA Hour.

Free fight.

The legend.

Bellator vs. RIZIN In Focus.

More free fights.

UFC 283 Aftermath with CCC.

Pav.

Debut.

Goals.

Oh.

Chimaev in Thailand.

Oh.

Not bad.

Stats.

Dan is in.

More human than human?

Count me in.

Advice.

Views.

Training.

Mana Martinez (10-3) vs. Cameron Saaiman (7-0); UFC 285, March 4

Marcelo Golm (10-3) vs. Daniel James (14-6-1); Bellator 293, March 31

Aaron Jeffery (13-3) vs. John Salter (18-6); Bellator 293, March 31

Cat Zingano (13-4) vs. Leah McCourt (7-2); Bellator 293, March 31

Jaleel Willis (16-4) vs. Rustam Khabilov (24-4); Bellator 293, March 31

Jay Jay Wilson (9-1) vs. Mandel Nallo (9-2, 1 NC); Bellator 293, March 31

Kelvin Gastelum (17-8, 1 NC) vs. Chris Curtis (30-9); UFC 287, April 8

Sage Northcutt (11-2) vs. Ahmed Mujtaba (10-2); ONE Fight Night 10, May 5

I wouldn’t at all have been mad if the Murphy fight was stopped by the ref or her corner, but I don’t think it was the most egregious situation we’ve seen.

Thanks for reading!

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 73% of 436 total votes answered “Brandon Moreno” when asked, “Who wins tomorrow?” Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo via third-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00 in UFC 283’s co-main event.

Thursday: 64% of 754 total votes answered “Glover Teixeira” when asked, “Who wins?” Jamahal Hill defeated Teixeira via unanimous decision in UFC 283’s main event.

Wednesday: 31% of 633 total votes answered “3” when asked, “How many more fights will Jon Jones have in his MMA career?”

Tuesday: 58% of 549 total votes answered “Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane” when asked, “Which of the two big title fights announced this past weekend will be more competitive?”

Monday: 55% of 597 total votes answered “Jon Jones” when asked, “Early thoughts, who wins?” Jones faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title at UFC 285 on March 4.

Today’s exit poll:

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