Valentina Shevchenko finishes Lauren Murphy for a sixth straight title defense.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Valentina Shevchenko’s rule is as strong as ever, not that anybody doubted it.
Shevchenko (21-4) successfully defended his UFC flyweight title for the sixth time in the co-main event of UFC 266 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.
Shevchenko wounded Murphy with punches and stopped her on the ground with blows four minutes into the fourth round,
ending the 125-pound championship battle quickly and decisively.
Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan injured Murphy with a counter right hook to the chin, resulting in the TKO.
Murphy, 38, was knocked out by the blow, and Shevchenko pounced with a left head kick and a barrage of punches.
Murphy fled to the fence, where she eventually collapsed on the ground.
Soon after, referee Keith Peterson stepped in.
Shevchenko’s win matched her with Ronda Rousey, the former bantamweight champion, for the most consecutive title defenses by a female champion.
Her seven championship victories are second all-time among female fighters,
behind only Amanda Nunes of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, who has nine.
Shevchenko’s championship bouts have never been especially exciting,
and Saturday was no exception. She used leg kicks and her lead left hand to pick at Murphy from a distance.
Murphy was at the mercy of Shevchenko’s laser-sharp counterstrikes and obvious speed advantage whenever she attempted to go forward.
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Shevchenko outstrikes Murphy 132-19 and took three of four takedown attempts, accumulating almost four minutes of control time on top.
In the second round, Murphy’s left eye was severely swollen,
and whatever adjustments she attempted just made matters worse. She never completed it until Saturday.
The future step for Shevchenko is unknown.
She’s faced Nunes twice before, both at 135 pounds.
Shevchenko was defeated by decision in both bouts, despite some believing she did enough to win the rematch in 2017.
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