For the first time in her career, Miesha Tate will be competing at 125 pounds.
Tate (19-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) is dropping down to flyweight to face former title challenger Lauren Murphy (15-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event on May 14.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.
After losing a unanimous decision to Ketlen Vieira in the UFC Fight Night 198 main event in November, Tate openly pondered a move down to flyweight. The former UFC and Strikeforce bantamweight champion explained that after her good friend Julianna Peña dethroned Amanda Nunes to capture the 135-pound title, the idea of changing weight classes became more viable since she’d rather not gun for Peña.
Meanwhile, Murphy will look to rebound from her title loss to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 266 in September. Prior to that, Murphy was on a five-fight winning streak, including wins over Andrea Lee and Joanne Wood.
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