Murphy wins inaugural IFC bantamweight world championship
She doesn’t have a nickname yet, so professional mixed martial arts fighter Lauren Murphy of Eagle River went out and earned one.
How does world champ sound?
The 30-year-old upped her record to 8-0 with a fourth-round TKO over Muay Thai specialist Miriam Nakamoto in a women’s bantamweight title fight at the Invicta Fighting Championship 7 co-main event in Kansas City.
Murphy had to rally to win the fight after falling behind early. Nakamoto used her reach and striking advantage to keep Murphy on the outside of the octagon.
It was easy to see why they call Nakamoto the ‘Queen of Mean.’
The momentum changed in the third round when Murphy took the fight to the ground. In the fourth round a knee injury forced Nakamoto to the ground and the referee to stop it.
“Might just have to start calling me Lauren “Comeback” Murphy because I know that first round really wasn’t going my way,” Murphjy told reporters. “When I came back in the third, I was just like I want to do this for the next couple of rounds and pull out the win, maybe get the TKO.”
Murphy has already offered Nakamoto a rematch.
“I think she’s an amazing fighter and I’ve never been hit that hard in the ring,” Murphy said. “If she wants a rematch, I’d be totally down to give it to her because I don’t think anyone wanted to see it end that way. I didn’t want to get the victory this way, but I’m going to go home tonight the champion,” she said.