MMA Fighter Lee Murray Plots Comeback from Moroccan Prison After Record-Breaking UK Heist

Murray plans to open a gym once he is out of prison, hopes to make another appearance in the octagon and even aims to win the UFC title, summarizes The SUN. "Fighting is my life. Fighting is in my blood. [...] If I’m not there to fight, I’ll take people there. [...] One way or another, I have to win that UFC title. My story is not over. This is not the end," he also said in Catching Lightning by Showtime, a series about his life. But for his wish to come true, he will have to benefit from a reduced sentence. Otherwise, he will have to wait until 2035 to be released from prison. To his credit, three fights: two wins, including one against Jorge Rivera, and one loss against MMA legend Anderson Silva on September 11, 2004. His opponent had won by unanimous decision.

Murray’s life took a wrong turn in 2006. Disguised as police officers, the British-Moroccan UFC fighter and his accomplices had robbed a Securitas depot in southeast England on the night of February 21, 2006. They had taken the depot manager, as well as his wife and son, hostage to force them to open the site. The burglars had taken away £53 million. But they had left behind £153 million, for lack of space in their vehicle. The police later found around £21 million (€28 million). Investigators managed to arrest eight suspects who had been prosecuted and sentenced to various prison terms for "organized banditry with particularly high stakes" or complicity. Murray and his best friend Paul Allen had fled to Morocco. To avoid extradition to England, he acquired Moroccan nationality. However, he will not escape Moroccan justice.

Arrested in a shopping center in Rabat on June 25, 2006, Murray was found guilty by a Moroccan court in June 2010. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. A sentence increased to 25 years on November 30, 2010. Today, the Anglo-Moroccan fighter expresses regrets. "I didn’t think about the future. I didn’t think about the future. My way of thinking today is totally different. [...] In prison, you see what’s important in life. [...] At that time, I had my youngest son Lorenzo and I also have my wife Nicola and I wouldn’t change them for anything in the world. And as for my other children, you know I wasn’t there for them," Murray regrets. Prison allows him to forge a new personality. "I think that by being in prison, I learn from my mistakes and I think that will be useful to them when I’m released and I can be with them. I’m sorry for what I did. [...] I’m sorry for the victims of the robbery. I’ve hurt a lot of people. [...] I’ve also hurt my own family. I’ve made them victims. I made a mistake."