UFC 276’s Miesha Tate and Lauren Murphy, Tate’s much-anticipated flyweight debut set to move forward » FirstSportz

Miesha Tate caught the fascination of the entire MMA community when she announced that she was moving into a new weight class at this late stage in her career. The division she was relegated to, the flyweight, is a tough cut but Tate assured that she is feeling better than ever and has her eyes on capturing the gold belt in the division. Those dreams will have to wait, however, as her first opponent in the new division, Lauren Murphy, just retired through injury.

Muphy and Tate were set to be the openers for the UFC 276 main card, which was helmed by Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier. Murphy, being a former title contender, was seen as the right move to determine if Tate could compete with the women’s bantamweight elite in her quest to fight champion Valentina Shevchenko. However, due to unknown injuries, Murphy was forced to pull out of the fight, leaving Tate in limbo a week before fight night.

Related: WATCH: Miesha Tate shares training video ahead of first flyweight fight at UFC 276

Miesha Tate and Lauren Murphy have been dropped from the UFC 276 lineup

Although not officially announced, the official lineup for UFC 276 during the broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Tsarsukyan did not show the fight, leading many to speculate that it had been cancelled. Shortly thereafter, the same was confirmed by Ariel Helwani and ESPN. It’s unclear if Murphy will be replaced and Tate go ahead to make her flyweight debut against another opponent as planned.

Tate’s flyweight debut was eagerly awaited not only by fans, but even by the champion herself, who said she would hold off on her promotion to bantamweight if Tate produced an exceptional performance. As a former bantamweight champion, Tate wishes to add her name to the list of female doubles champions and regards this as her last attempt to do so.

This would have been Tate’s third appearance in the octagon since her 5-year hiatus from the sport. On her return, “Cupcake” picked up a stoppage win in the third round over Marion Reneau. After that bout, Tate would come up short in a 5-round decision loss to Keteln Viera, making the decision to drop a weight class.

Also read: “The lightest thing I’ve ever been” Miesha Tate sends a warning to the flyweights ahead of UFC 276 as she shares pics of her new, tattered body

Also read: ‘I made the same mistake’ – Miesha Tate slams Holly Holm’s performance and reveals what went wrong