September 23, 2021 3 min read

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Valentina Shevchenko vs Lauren Murphy – UFC 266, Odds, Time and Where to Watch

The UFC is back at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas with 14 exciting fights. The headliner is the clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega, but there are plenty of other interesting bouts. One of those is the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko vs Lauren Murphy.

This is going to be the sixth time Women’s Flyweight Champion Shevchenko (21-3) is defending her title. She did it successfully in the previous five fights, each of which saw her fighting off an elite fighter. This time, she’s squaring off with Lauren Murphy (15-4), who doesn’t have a too impressive fighting portfolio.

Valentina Shevchenko vs Lauren Murphy Odds (UFC 266) 

All odds are per DraftKings as of September 23.

Moneyline

Valentina Shevchenko-1500
Lauren Murphy+850
Draw+5000

Method of Victory

Valentina Shevchenko by knockout-120
Lauren Murphy by knockout+2500
Valentina Shevchenko by submission+330
Lauren Murphy by submission+2800
Valentina Shevchenko by decision+240
Lauren Murphy by decision+1800

Rounds Over/Under

Over 4.5 rounds (fight to go the distance)+200
Under 4.5 round (fight not to go the distance)-280

Where and When to Watch

Date: Saturday, September 25, main card starts at 7 PM PDT

Location: T-Mobile Arena in Vegas

Watch: UFC Fight Pass

Shevchenko to Defend Her Title for the Sixth Time?

Valentina Shevchenko is a female GOAT contender, who’s been the UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion since December 2018, when she defeated Joanna Jędrzejczyk in the title bout at UFC 231. Since then, she went on to defend her championship fight on five occasions, beating Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia and Jessica Andrade.

Not only is she the queen of the flyweight division, but she also did well in the bantamweight class in the past. Still, she wasn’t as successful. In fact, all three of her career defeats happened while she was competing in the bantamweight division.

The first one happened after a doctor’s stoppage against Liz Carmouche. The other two were against Amanda Nunes, who’s the current no. 1 in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Actually, Nunes is the only player who’s ranked higher than Shevchenko, and her main rival for the GOAT status.

The reason behind Shevchenko’s success is that she’s an all-around fighter. With a background in kickboxing, she’s great at counter-striking. Furthermore, she’s a fantastic grappler who’s made breathtaking take-downs against such UFC greats as Jéssica Andrade and Holly Holm.

Proof that she’s a Swiss army knife of a fighter is that, of her 21 wins, seven happened by knockdown, seven by submission, and seven by decision.

Can Murphy Cause one of the Biggest Upsets in the UFC History?

Lauren Murphy might be #3 in the UFC women’s flyweight rankings, but she’s just a level below Shevchenko when fighting abilities are concerned. Her career record is 15-4, with 11 of those 16 fights happening under the banner of the UFC. Unfortunately for her, all four defeats she’s suffered so far happened while fighting for this promotion.

Another fact showing that she’s nowhere near Shevchenko is that she hasn’t beaten too many elite fighters so far. Actually, the highest-ranked fighter she’s won against is Joanne Calderwood, who’s currently #6 in the women’s flyweight rankings.

Pick: Valentina Shevchenko by knockout

Journalist

Jessie is our resident sports specialist with over 4 years of experience in sports journalism. She's worked with several prominent online sports news outlets in the past and has accrued specialist insight across a wide range of sports markets. Combined with her own love and excitement of sports, having competed at a national level during college, she aims to improve sports coverage value for our readers at GamblingNews.

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