Throughout the UFC’s history, there have been many fighters who have come through with extremely unique stories, however, the tale of former middleweight prospect, Lee Murray, is arguably the most fascinating and mind-blowing story of them all.
Murray was one of just a few British fighters in the UFC at the time of his short stint in the promotion. However, his lasting legacy didn’t end up being made instead the Octagon. Instead, he is notorious for his role in the UK’s largest cash heist ever.
Here’s how Murray went from being touted as a future UFC champion to becoming a highly-wanted criminal.
Lee Murray’s MMA Career
Prior to his involvement in the Securitas Depot Robbery, Murray was a highly-rated UFC prospect
Two decades ago, Lee Murray was one of the UK’s hottest prospects in the sport of MMA. He even defeated respected veteran Jorge Rivera in his UFC debut with a triangle armbar – immediately putting the world on notice as to his potential.
However, an assault charge as a result of a road rage incident effectively ended his UFC career as it prevented him from entering the USA – at a time where the promotion almost exclusively held shows stateside.
Murray tried to continue his MMA journey on UK shores with his next fight taking place in Cage Rage, where he would take future UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva the full five-round distance in a bout for the promotion’s middleweight title. Given how much of a deadly finisher ‘The Spider’ was, there was plenty for Murray to be proud of, despite coming out on the wrong end of a decision.
Lee Murray’s professional MMA record (as of 31/10/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
12 fights | 8 wins | 2 losses |
By knockout | 4 | 0 |
By submission | 4 | 1 |
By decision | 0 | 1 |
No contests | 1 | |
Draws | 1 | |
In September 2005, Murray was stabbed multiple times outside a nightclub in London, ultimately requiring emergency surgery to save his life. In the aftermath of that incident, it became increasingly clear that the once promising prospect wasn’t going to achieve his MMA dream.
Realising that he wasn’t going to make his fortune in the UFC, Murray instead turned his focus to a life of crime.
Lee Murray’s Involvement in the Securitas Depot Robbery
Murray was sentenced to 25 years in a Moroccan jail for his involvement in the heist
In 2006, accompanied by a group of masked men, Murray led one of the most high-profile bank robberies ever. He and his accomplices stole a grand total of $92.2 million in both used and unused sterling banknotes, making the robbery still to this day the biggest bank heist in UK history.
The robbery – which was a meticulously planned operation – began when a Securitas Depot manager named Colin Dickson was pulled over by men that he believed were policeman. However, these individuals were not law enforcement at all. Instead, they were criminals – allegedly led by Murray – who tied up and blindfolded Dickson.
At the same time, further members of the gang kidnapped Dickson’s family. Each of the hostages was then taken to the depot. Using Dickson as their way in, the armed criminals entered the facility dressed as police and added members of the depot’s staff to their growing list of hostages.
Now with access to the depot’s vault, the gang proceeded to drive a truck up to the back door and help themselves to $92.2m in cash. They could reportedly have made off with more if they had access to another truck.
Almost immediately, Murray made his way to Morocco, but was later caught thanks to a dual operation between British and Moroccan police. He was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the heist, but this was later increased to 25 years after an appeal court decided that a harsher sentence was in order.
While a number of his accomplices and many millions of dollars remain unaccounted for, Murray will be in jail until 2035. Per talkSPORT, once he is a free man, the notorious gangster still harbours a dream of competing in MMA again – at the age of 57 years old.