Through two rounds at UFC Newark, Lauren Murphy and Mara Romero Borella were fairly evenly matched, then Murphy put together a beautiful finishing sequence in the final round.
Lauren Murphy started her career at 8-0 with an Invicta FC title to her name before making her UFC debut in 2014. After going 1-3 at bantamweight in the Octagon, Murphy signed on as a castmember for the flyweight season of The Ultimate Fighter. After losing to eventual champion Nicco Montano, Murphy was given another shot and defeated Barb Honchak in her UFC flyweight debut. Shell be looking to bounce back from a loss to Sijara Eubanks.
Mara Romero Borella is 2-1 in the UFC thus far including a first-round submission of Kalindra Faria. She last fought in February with a split decision over Taila Santos.
Lauren Murphy landed a combination to start the bout, and Borella answered with her own. Borella was focusing on kicking the leg of Murphy, then ate another punch combination. It was a tale of two styles early on, with Murphy sticking to punches, and Borella sticking with kicks. Murphy landed an overhand, and Borella couldn’t quite match her output early.
Cageside Press scored the first round 10-9 Lauren Murphy
After a tentative start to the round from both fighters, Borella landed a strong double leg takedown. Murphy immediately scooted out and stood up to clinch Borella against the cage. Not much happened after that, as for two minutes, Murphy pinned Borella to the fence to ride out the round.
Cageside Press scored the second round 10-9 Mara Romero Borella
A takedown attempt from Borella was thwarted by Murphy early in the final round. An uppercut then rocked Borella and Murphy pursued the finish with heavy punches. Borella shot for a takedown, Murphy stuffed it with ease, lifted her up then landed a picture-perfect knee to knock the Italian out. A fantastic finish for the veteran.
Nothing lucky about it!@LaurenMurphyMMA gets the finish in round 3 with a HUGE knee! #UFCNewark pic.twitter.com/w4weHV9CFB
— UFC (@ufc) August 3, 2019
Lauren Murphy def. Mara Romero Borella by TKO (Knee and Punches) in Round 3 (1:46)
Check out all the results from UFC Newark here!
