Despite his hasty rise through the featherweight ranks, it has not always been smooth sailing for Murphy. He did not fight between his knockout win against Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi on October 30, 2021, and his win against Santos at UFC 286 on March 18, 2023, an absence of over a year that saw him miss the entirety of 2022.
Now back in the Octagon and feeling better than ever, Murphy feels battle-tested by the adversity that he has faced over the years, both in and out of the sport, and is counting on that resilience to pay dividends both this weekend and going forward.
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“The Miracle” is not going to let the pressure faze him, and he feels prepared to keep his untarnished record intact on Saturday.
“Like the saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and it’s made me stronger in mindset and stuff like that.” Murphy said. “But I understand why fighters do feel like that, because in this game, a loss is like a year setback. Obviously it’s a small window as an athlete, so I do get the pressure.”
