Valentina Shevchenko made it look easy against Lauren Murphy in the UFC 266 co-main event. But that was always kind of the goal.
The reigning flyweight queen pitched a virtual shutout for three rounds against a gun shy Murphy before pouring it on in Round 4 to earn a stoppage with elbows and punches at the 4:00 mark of the period at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“Lauren, she’s a tough opponent,” Shevchenko said at the UFC 266 post-fight press conference. “She’s physical and very strong, but I wanted to play my game.