When the casting call for The Ultimate Fighter 26 was first announced, it released with an interesting caveat. Not only would the season usher in the UFC women’s flyweight division and crown an inaugural UFC 125-pound champion, but tryouts would also be open to any female already active on the promotion’s roster, regardless of whether they fought at featherweight, bantamweight, or strawweight.
As it turns out, only one active UFC fighter took the show up on its offer: Lauren Murphy, a veteran UFC bantamweight who wound up slotted at No. 3 for this season’s 16-fighter tournament.