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Lauren Murphy and Meisha Tate will start off the main card action at UFC Long Island on July 15 next Saturday. Long Island will also witness an important moment in women's MMA come Saturday night as Murphy vs. Tate will be the 600th women's fight in UFC history.
Tate was the Strikeforce bantamweight champion when the promotion was taken over by the UFC. 'Cupcake' also briefly held UFC gold in 2016 but was dethroned by Amanda Nunes after a four-month stint. After a subsequent decision loss to Raquel Pennington, Tate took a hiatus of nearly five years, returning against Marion Reneau last year. The former women's champion recorded a third-round finish only to drop a decision against Ketlen Vieira in her next outing.
Meanwhile, Murphy joined the UFC in 2014 but her career went topsy turvy till 2019. A third-round TKO win over Mara Romero Borella sparked off a five-fight win streak that saw 'Lucky' propelled into title contention against Valentina Shevchenko. In her most recent outing, Murphy was outclassed by 'Bullet' en route to a fourth-round TKO loss.
Tate and Murphy were previously scheduled to clash at UFC 276 during the International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The bout was rescheduled for Long Island after 'Lucky' pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.
UFC Long Island gets new bout after multiple withdrawals
Billy Quarantillo recently pulled out of his featherweight clash against Bill Algeo scheduled for UFC Long Island, citing a leg injury. Another bout on the card fell through as Khusein Askhabov withdrew from his scheduled bantamweight encounter against Herbert Burns.
Following the two removals, the UFC have now set up a featherweight affair between Bill Algeo and Herbert Burns. Algeo first broke the news of his new booking on OnlyFans.
Bill Algeo has gone back and forth in his UFC career since making his debut in 2020. Coming off a decision win against Joanderson Brito, 'Senor Perfecto' will be looking to rack up a win streak.
Meanwhile, Gilbert Burns' brother Herbert will be returning to the octagon after a hiatus of nearly two years. In his last outing, 'The Blaze' suffered a second-round TKO loss to Daniel Pineda, ending a five-fight win streak.
UFC Long Island will take place at the USB Arena in Elmwood, New York, with the main card airing on ABC after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
