Miesha Tate’s highly anticipated move to 125 pounds won’t take place next weekend at UFC 276.
As announced on the UFC Vegas 57 broadcast, Tate’s opponent Lauren Murphy has withdrawn from the bout due to ‘undisclosed reasons.’ According to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Miesha probably won’t remain on the International Fight Week card. Rather than match her up with someone else on short notice, it sounds like the UFC is looking to re-schedule Tate vs. Murphy for a future event in July.
Long Island, New York fans may just get a nice little addition to their July 16th upcoming card.
Sources said Tate is very unlikely to fight next week in Vegas. Most likely scenario is Tate vs. Murphy being rebooked for later in July. The Long Island card is the frontrunner, per sources.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) June 26, 2022
Tate and Murphy were originally set to fight in the second bout of the UFC 276 pay-per-view main card, after Sean O’Malley vs. Pedro Munhoz and before Sean Strickland vs. Alex Pereira. It was a pretty high profile placement and just another sign the UFC is looking to give Miesha Tate a push in her new weightclass if she beats the number three ranked Lauren Murphy.
Murphy’s ranking is likely why Tate is more interested in keeping the fight together than accepting someone else and staying on the UFC 276 card. A win over the tough 15-5 veteran would vault her to the top of the division, where there’s few contenders left that haven’t already lost to champion Valentina Shevchenko.
The UFC’s Long Island card is headlined by Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega plus a slew of other exciting fighters. It could use the extra name recognition that Miesha Tate brings, though, given the fact that this is the UFC’s third broadcast event with ABC.
The only thing potentially holding back the move may be the number of bouts already booked for the event. Even without Tate vs. Murphy, there’s already 13 bouts assigned for UFC on ABC: Ortega vs. Rodriguez.