Lauren Murphy not guaranteed next title shot against Valentina Shevchenko, says Dana White

UFC president Dana White says he is not committed to giving Lauren Murphy a title shot against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko next.

Murphy defeated Joanne Calderwood via split decision on the UFC 263 preliminary card for her fifth win in a row, and she wants to fight for the belt next. Murphy hasn’t fought the champion Shevchenko yet so it would be a fresh fight, and based on her five-fight win streak it’s hard to ignore what she has been doing in the division. But as far as the UFC bossman White is concerned, he isn’t sure what he wants to do yet with Murphy.

Speaking to reporters following UFC 263, White said that he wouldn’t commit to giving Murphy the next title shot against Shevchenko after she got the win against Calderwood, suggesting that the UFC could still go in another direction at 125lbs.

Dana White on whether Lauren Murphy is next for Valentina Shevchenko: “I don’t know. I don’t know on the top of my head” #UFC263

— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) June 13, 2021

Dana White on whether Lauren Murphy is next for Valentina Shevchenko: “I don’t know. I don’t know on the top of my head” #UFC263

Looking at the UFC women’s flyweight rankings, Murphy is currently No. 3 in the world, with the only two contenders ranked above her in Jessica Andrade and Katlyn Chookagian, both of who had their chance to fight Shevchenko already and failed. With Murphy as the highest-ranked fighter who hasn’t fought the champion yet, it makes sense that she would be next in line to fight for the belt. At the same time, however, the win over Calderwood was far from an impressive performance, and many fans and media actually felt she should have lost the decision. While the official result is a win, it seems as though the UFC still has some questions about whether or not Murphy is a viable challenger for the champion.

Do you think Dana White should give Lauren Murphy the next title shot against Valentina Shevchenko?