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This weekend has seen some unfortunate news for the UFC, as the promotion announced that the upcoming bout between flyweights Miesha Tate and Lauren Murphy has been scrapped from UFC 276 following an injury to the latter.
With Lauren Murphy out of her scheduled bout with Miesha Tate with less than a week to go, who could the UFC peg as a possible last-minute replacement?
Whether they can find a new opponent for ‘Cupcake’ is unknown right now, but it’s highly likely that the promotion will try, as Tate’s flyweight debut was one of the most highly-anticipated bouts at UFC 276.
With that in mind, here are five fighters who could replace Lauren Murphy on short notice to face Miesha Tate.
#5. Miesha Tate vs. Erin Blanchfield
Given her high profile, star power, and the fact that she’s a former bantamweight champion, it’s likely that the UFC intends to push Miesha Tate as a possible challenger to current flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko as soon as possible, hence matching her with No.3-ranked Lauren Murphy.
However, with Murphy out of action now, one option for the UFC could be to attempt to use Tate’s star power to build up a different rising star. After all, ‘Cupcake’ is 35 years old, has already retired once, may be past her prime and is coming off a loss.
With that in mind, then, one option to replace Murphy could be hot prospect Erin Blanchfield. At 9-1, Blanchfield is one of the best up-and-comers in the flyweight division, and she’s already reeled off three wins in the octagon.
More to the point, she might be ready for a late-notice bout as she only fought on the first weekend of June, picking up a largely flawless win over JJ Aldrich via guillotine choke.
Would Blanchfield be willing to take such a late-notice bout on? It’s hard to say, but a fight with Tate would mean a huge reward if she could find a way to win, making it potentially well worth it for the prospect.
#4. Miesha Tate vs. Jennifer Maia
Miesha Tate’s planned bout with Lauren Murphy would’ve seen her face off with a recent former title challenger, so with Murphy out, could the UFC peg another former title challenger in the form of Jennifer Maia as her replacement?
Maia is ranked a little lower than Murphy in the flyweight division right now, sitting at #8, and recently she’s fallen on hard times and has picked up just one win in her last four bouts.
However, the Brazilian is a highly capable fighter in all areas, and it’s probably arguable that she pushed flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko as hard as any other challenger has done in recent years.
More to the point, despite being ranked lower than Murphy, a win over Maia would still represent a major victory for Tate, and would move her directly into title contention at 125lbs, something that’s clearly her goal right now.
For Maia, meanwhile, Tate would mark a huge scalp if she could find a way to win, and she could even find herself back in contention in her own right.
So, if the UFC could get Maia to fill in this slot on late notice, they’d be well advised to do so.
#3. Miesha Tate vs. Cynthia Calvillo
Although she’s currently on a three-fight losing streak, it’s safe to say that Cynthia Calvillo is still one of the better flyweights on the UFC’s roster, and prior to her recent slide, she’d gone unbeaten in four fights.
So could the native of California step in to face Miesha Tate on late notice? It could definitely be possible.
As of the time of writing, Calvillo is scheduled to fight against Nina Nunes one week after UFC 276 at Fight Night: Rafael Dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev – meaning that she’d only have to bring her weight cut forward one week, something that may well be achievable.
With an excellent ground game, underrated boxing and a combative attitude, Calvillo could definitely test ‘Cupcake’, and a win over the former bantamweight champion would almost certainly propel her back into contention.
More importantly, a bout with Tate is far more high-profile than one with Nunes, meaning that if she’s capable of doing so, Calvillo should probably offer her services to the UFC for this clash as soon as possible.
#2. Miesha Tate vs. Jessica Andrade
Another highly-ranked flyweight contender who might be willing to face Miesha Tate on late notice is former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. ‘Bate Estaca’ most recently submitted Amanda Lemos in April, and is now set to face prospect Manon Fiorot in September.
However, given Fiorot has much less name value than Tate but is probably just as dangerous in terms of her fighting skills, would Andrade be willing to step up against ‘Cupcake’ instead?
It’s definitely possible. A win over Tate could push the Brazilian back into the top three at 125lbs, and would mean that a fighter who might’ve leapfrogged her in the queue for a shot at champ Valentina Shevchenko would be shunted downwards instead.
Obviously, this fight would be risky for ‘Bate Estaca’, as a loss would probably mean she would find it hard to get back into contention. However, it’d be a high-risk, high-reward situation that could be worth taking should the UFC offer the fight to her.
#1. Miesha Tate vs. Jessica Eye
Obviously, the easiest solution for the UFC if they want to keep Miesha Tate on next week’s card following the withdrawal of Lauren Murphy would be to simply bump a different fighter competing on the event up into the fight.
UFC 276 has one other women’s flyweight bout on offer, a preliminary clash between former title challenger Jessica Eye and hot prospect Maycee Barber, and while both women would make decent opponents for Tate, ‘Evil Eye’ probably makes more sense.
Not only is she ranked slightly higher than Barber in the division at No.12, but ‘The Future’ also took the fight with her on relatively late notice in her own right, replacing the injured Casey O’Neill in late April.
Given that Barber is still just 24 years old and has a much brighter future than Eye, it might not make too much sense to risk putting her against a seasoned and proven veteran like Tate right now.
Eye, on the other hand, is arguably past her best anyway, making her far more expendable from the promotion’s point of view. More importantly, she’d probably relish the chance at avenging her 2015 loss to ‘Cupcake’.
Sure, Barber might be left frustrated if Eye were to move up the card to face ‘Cupcake’, but she could probably get another booking in the near future anyway, while ‘Evil Eye’ would find herself with a huge opportunity.
Of all the potential solutions to this issue, moving Eye up into a rematch with Tate is the most logical.
