UFC 266: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Lauren Murphy Picks and Predictions

Lauren Murphy vs. Valentina Shevchenko

UFC: Saturday, September 25th at 10:00 PM ET

The Line: -- Lauren Murphy +850 / Valentina Shevchenko -1600 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy face off for the women’s flyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 266 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko is one of the best women’s UFC fighters in history and she currently sits with a 21-3 record overall. Shevchenko has won seven fights in a row and each of the last six has been for the belt. Her last fight came against Jessica Andrade and it was midway through the second round that she finished the fight with her elbows. She is averaging 3.02 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 1.99 significant strikes per minute. Shevchenko also likes to get the fight to the ground and is currently averaging 2.64 takedowns every 15 minutes. She is also successful on 63 percent of those attempts and stops 77 percent of her opponent's takedown attempts. 

Lauren “Lucky” Murphy comes into this fight with a 15-4 record overall and she has won five fights in a row. Murphy’s last fight came against Joanne Calderwood in June of 2021 and she won that fight by split decision. Two of Murphy’s last four fights have been by split decision win. Murphy is averaging 3.95 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.25 significant strikes per minute. Murphy is averaging 1.16 takedowns every 15 minutes but is only successful on 34 percent of her attempts. 

Valentina Shevchenko is a big favorite and for good reason, she is no doubt the better fighter. Murphy is going to come out swinging, but it’s not going to matter, as Shevchenko is going to weather the storm. I wouldn’t lay this number with Shevchenko as an individual bet, but her to win on the money line makes a lot of sense in parlays. 

Shane’s Pick Valentina Shevchenko ML

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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