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Lee Murray, Tito Ortiz & The UK's Biggest Bank Heist
Lee Murray was an aspiring MMA fighter. Thing is, he was also a gangster, who knocked out Tito Ortiz in a street fight, survived a multiple stabbing and went on to orchestrate the UK's biggest bank heist...
UFC legend Matt Hughes retells a story in his autobiography. Following UFC 38, held in London in 2002, former champion Tito Ortiz squared up to local MMA fighter Lee Murray:
“Both their jackets come off, and Tito throws a left hook at Lee Murray and misses, and right as he missed, Lee Murray counters with, like, a five-punch combo, landed right on the chin, and knocked Tito out. OUT.”
Of course there’s also the night Murray went toe to toe with the UFC’s greatest, Anderson Silva, and survived the full three rounds – a rare feat – only losing on points.
Lee Murray is a guy described as a ‘scary son-of-a-bitch’ by UFC owner Dana White, who makes his living in the rough-and-tumble world of the fight game.
More…
Facing 25 years locked, languishing in a Moroccan jail; ‘Lightning’ Lee Murray – MMA bad-boy turned alleged robber – must reflect on what could have been, had it not gone all so wrong.
Murray, 35, alleged organiser of one of the biggest money heists in world history, has made waves throughout his 35 years. As a Bermondsey-bred bad-boy, who became a hoodlum and kingpin of the local drug trade, his rise to international infamy was peppered with violent incidents.
Born Lee Lamrani Ibrahim Murray in 1977 to an English mother and a Moroccan father, Murray became a troublemaker young. He had a tempestuous relationship with his father which became a general disregard for authority. He was expelled from school and took to drug dealing with a group of local friends, including long-time associate Paul Allen.
Murray was known as dangerous, and was widely feared by those came into contact with him. He wound up entering an MMA event, Millenium Brawl, in 1999, and due to a speedy knockout of his opponent in the first round, was christened ‘Lightning’. He continued to fight, and train, living a sort of double life in the gym and on the streets.
His MMA credentials grew, as he made short work of opponents on various UK based fight-nights. He eventually signed to the US-based MMA promotion, UFC. His first, and only, fight was a notch in the win column, as he dispatched Jorge Rivera via triangle armbar in the first round. Legal problems forced him out of the United States, but nine months later he stepped into the cage on home soil against the great Anderson Silva. He didn’t shy from the challenge with Silva, only losing on points; not the usual outcome when fighters step into the cage with ‘The Spider’.
The Silva defeat was the last time Murray officially fought on an MMA promotion, and his problems were to escalate. He was stabbed outside the Funky Buddha nightclub in London, and was left fighting for his life.
It was soon after that Murray’s life began to unravel, as he was implicated in the largest ever cash heist on UK soil.
On 21st February 2006, the manager of a Securitas depot was pulled over by what he believed was an unmarked police car. He was then kidnapped and taken to a warehouse, where his family were soon brought, tied up and at gun point. The entire staff of the depot were also tied up at gunpoint, while the depot was ransacked of £53 million. Murray and Allen were found, four months later, in Morocco - living the life of the rich and famous. Allen, following four months in an apparently rat-infested Moroccan jail, was extradited to Britain to face charges, but Murray, thanks to his Moroccan parentage couldn’t be removed.
Sitting in a Moroccan prison, Murray was able to smuggle a cell phone into his cell. He was contacted by a representative from MMA website Middle Easy, and described the conditions he is in.
His living conditions are basic, a room of 23 men, with beds for 16 - the rest sleep on the floor. By the time the interview took place, Murray had been inside for close to five years. His days are limited, but there’s no sign of emotional struggle. To keep the essence of Murray’s day, the message has been reproduced verbatim:
“Wake up about 8am,we have our own hob to cook food on so I make some breakfast, usually oats, fruit yogurt and protein shake, then 9:30am the door opens to go out to the yard so I usually do some cardio, interval training with sprints and stuff, train for about a one hour, then go back to the room and have a carb and protein drink, then i heat a big saucepan of water and tip it into a bucket a go into the toilet room to have a shower if that’s what u want to call it. I use a pot to scoop the water out the bucket to tip over me, when I finish I have something to eat again, something light. The door closes again at 11am, I sleep a little, then the door opens at 2:30pm, there’s a guy here who was a kickboxing champion Zakaria Moussaoui. Me and him do some Thai training, pad work sparring or kettle-bells, then at 5pm the door closes again till the morning.”
Murray hasn’t given up the fight. He never has.
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COMMENTS
Murray claims to have knocked him out, Tito denies it. Also, Tito has never been knocked out cold in a fight, not even after getting in the ring twice with a prime Chuck Liddell. Being a light heavy weight cutting down from around 230 pounds each fight, with Murray being a smaller middleweight, it's probably a lie. Matt Hughes is not a reliable source by any means. The same guy who at once proclaims he and his family are devout and pious christians, then contradicts that statement with others like "my wife wants blood, and i'm going to give it to her", in reference to fighting Matt Serra.
A knockdown can happen easily in any fight. Its a matter of where the punch landed and where Tito's feet weer at the time. However that's just MMA junk. Anyone into the sport from back in those days knows that Murray was a class A prick. The same could be said of a lot of the fighters and frankly the fans. At the time and still to a large element now, it had local hardmen, bouncers and the thugs who like to jerk off about a cheapshot. I say this as someone who covered these events for websites and magazines. Compared to the events in Asia and the USA, the British MMA scene is moronic.
@dan. As a fighter from the british scene I couldnt agree more. A tall slim guy with glasses and normal cropped hair stands out a LOT amongst the sea of tapout shirts and mohawks, haha! There's a lot of moronic low level American events too, but nothing compared to the shite here in the UK. Asian events are excellent though, really classy in general.
Pat Militech aslo confrims the story that murray ko'd silva but he says murray stomped on him
sounds like a bit of a cock!
surely if he fought Anderson Silva & lost on points .. he can fight. and regardless of his nefarious actions he had a fighting pedigree
@woodzo. Same story, 2 different accounts...not looking good really. Miletich and Hughes are both of team quest, who've never got on with Tito. He must have given Tito a shock, but out cold is unlikely.
@jon I was at the fight and he was outclassed predictably. It wasn't quite the Silva we see now but yes, its still a good performance by Murray. The guy had potential, certainly standing and fitness wise. We'll never know.
@dan If Lee was such a prick then why does every fighter that trained with him have massive respect for the guy, I met him a few years ago and he was humble and actually seemed surprised I knew who he was.
@Rob, unfortunately "humble" doesnt really go hand in hand with "UK's biggest bank heist".
Lee Murray is old news. This article is old news. Why on earth is this being revisited in 2013? There is no new content here - He is still in prison, nothing has changed from this article to the articles written all the way back five -six years ago. Did you guys just find this story from some old archives from another site and re-post it because it sounded interesting??? Go source some new content
well i was there it was out side a night club chinawhite in london regent st.. it was the end of the night china white had hosted the after party for the ufc that night there was no trouble that night we took photos with the fighters i still have mine.. tito and chuck left and i was called up stairs as there was a fight when i got out side i saw lee spark out tito wham he was gone the rest of the team came out side and it was a huge fight police arrived and we told them it was the ufc after party they stood back and did not want to get involved my self and my team of security steped in and stopped the brawls it was like a all out saloon fight in a cowboy film wicked... at the end of it it was chuck who got tito up and sat him down we joked about the fight till today.. as for lee i knew him from when he was a kid he lived on an estate that was full of thugs we use to gang fight ever week with his lot but we all grew up as for him being in jail i know for a fact the king of morocco was using him as a barganing tool to swap him with a prisoner over here in the uk that the goverment of morocco wants for causing the casablanca bomb but blair said it was no deal but lee was getting beats by the gurds each day and was having a hard time he is now in one of the most nasty prisons in morocco good help him..
hey max how do u know all this? i read somewhere about him being let out early because of faults with the evidence used by a police officer in the case, do u know anything about this?
I was there on the night, it was Lauren Pope, (Z list celebrirty Bday) and Murray did knock him out, on another matter, Murray and his crew were notorious in South London, I remember having a row with one of his mates in a pub and the first thing he said to me is he was "connected" to Lee Murray! Meant nothing then means nothing now!
Max - I lived on that estate too! I don't think we were all thugs though!
No he has been transferred to kanitra maximum security jail not herd about the case now for ages as iv not been back to Morocco for couple of years. I remember the night he got beat up out side funky Buddha by some youth's he was lucky to have survived that but if your going to Play the hard nut and pick on the week then karma is a bitch. Ben not all of you were thugs but most of you were I grew up on the vinsent estates. His dad was friends with my parent's at the time. But hay when he gets out he has one hell of a story to tell
Lee murrey is my hero love you too bits bro and you Paul I will always be there for you.... Vince
Hay max I was there to and it w as not like thet he got stabed from behind
The Ortiz story is 100% true. Was told it the next morning first hand from friends who witnessed it, long before it hit the press.
Lee's not from Bermondsey, I'm pretty sure he's from the Woolwich area of SE London
Guy had so much talent what a waste but he did knock tito out cold.....cold face first I knew someone who was there shit chuck liddell was knocking people out as well turned into a huge brawl
None of yous know wat da hell your on bout!! It wernt no yout that stabbed lee up outside funky.. It was a heavy heavy crew? And tito arse hit da penny... Just face da facts! I'm from woolwich myself n knew lee for many years.. Se-18 running it red
Lee is a true warrior n the balls rolling bad boi.. They can lock the locks but they cant stop the clocks!! Gwon spicks...
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