UFC 283 in Brazil saw a lot of action, which included a particularly troubling bout on the main card – Jessica Andrade vs Lauren Murphy. This was a one-sided beating which saw Andrade pummel through Murphy to no end.
There’s been a lot of criticism from MMA pros and fans, and rightfully so. All of the people watching were concerned for Murphy;s wellbeing considering she had no chance to win at any point beyond first round.
While Murphy showed a lot of heart and stuck to it till the end, it would’ve been better if the bout had been stopped when it was apparent Murphy was out of it.
Combination bt Jessica Andrade!#UFC283 pic.twitter.com/aSWSnRiKN3
— Van der Fleet (@luuk_de_jong99) January 22, 2023
Jessica Andrade putting on a destruction at #UFC283 tonight.
The Brazilian said she wants UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili next. #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/52UbUdpjwj
— MMA DIRT (@MMADIRTcom) January 22, 2023
@ufc #UFC284
La chankada ke le ha dado JESSICA ANDRADE @jessicammapro a LAUREN MURPHY @LaurenMurphyMMA ha sido kolosal! @danawhite Dana man! This girls deserve something special! My respects for both amazing fighters!#UFCBrazil #Brasile 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/jatDSyyTp4— CHERMAN QUINO (@cherman69) January 22, 2023
Naturally, all those watching wanted her corner to throw in the towel because Murphy herself wasn’t giving in. UFC legend and commentator Daniel Cormier even shouted live while on commentary for the official to “stop the fight!”
Many MMA pros also made their concerns known on social media.
During the bout, welterweight Belal Muhammad and legend Michael Bisping both tweeted, wishing for the corner to “throw the towel in”
After the event, heavyweight Tanner Bose commented: “That was fu**ed. Andrade is a monster and Lauren Murphy is one of the toughest humans alive which made that even more rough #UFC283
UFC veteran Derek Brunson jokingly said: “If I’m a female and they ask me to fight Andrade, I’m asking for more money 💰 😂😂😂 #UFC283”
Brunson was having a blast as he posted a picture of a towel being thrown and tweeted: “Me at home practicing if I was in Lauren Murphy’s corner 😂😂😂 #UFC283”
The winner, Jessica Andrade, also talked about the fight being stopped after it was all over. She felt confused and felt like she needed to do more.
“There were certain points where I thought that the fight was going to be stopped – maybe I was missing or doing something else.”
MMA journalist Aron Bronsteter tweeted the disturbing stats and highlighted the following: “Lauren Murphy officially absorbed 161 significant head strikes in her loss to Jessica Andrade.”
He compared it to the battle between Zhang Weili and Joana Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248. He said that the total number of strikes absorbed between the two was closer to the punishment that Murphy took alone.
“By comparison, in Weili vs Joanna 1, they absorbed a combined 192 significant head strikes over 5 rounds.”