Lee Brahim Murray-Lamrani (born 12 November 1977) is an English mixed martial arts fighter and convicted bank robber.
[6] In 2018, Murray in an interview stated he was training to fight in prison, and still planned a UFC comeback, with the hope of securing a pardon from King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
[8] On his mother Barbara Murray's side, Lee's family hails from Bermondsey, a densely populated semi-docklands part of south London between Tower Bridge and the Old Kent Road which is considered a traditional breeding ground for professional criminals, especially armed robbers.
On a holiday to Gran Canaria she met Lee's father, Brahim Lamrani, a kitchen hand from the southern Moroccan city of Sidi Ifni.
[9] The couple's first child, Lee, was born in St Nicholas Hospital, Plumstead, on 12 November 1977, and was initially raised by his mother while Brahim continued to live and work in the Canary Islands.
[9] The family lived at 11 Buttmarsh Close, Woolwich, and Murray attended Foxfield Primary School, where he met his future wife, Siobhan Rowlings, three years his junior.
[9] A skinny youngster, Murray's preferred method of attack was running into battle wind-milling his arms around his head with a "manic" expression on his face, a maneuver which, combined with his protruding ears, earned him the nickname of "Alien," which he hated.
"[9] Largely absent from the first seven years of his life, Brahim demanded his respect and obedience, to the point of a police warning for mistreatment.
[9] At this time, Lee began attending Eaglesfield Boys School, which is where he met his eventual best friend and partner-in-crime, Paul Allen.
[9] By then, Murray was living on the streets and was a member of a gang based on the Barnfield Estate , with stealing and drug-dealing a part of everyday activity; he and his friends were allegedly in daily contact with Nigerian drug dealers who operated at Plumstead train station, and an eventual turf war broke out that saw Murray and his friends win a local territory in drug trading.
"[9] Murray also proved himself adept at the more violent side of selling drugs, typically to control territory and make sure customers pay.
"[9] Murray was known for punching people almost at random in the street, as well as habitually harassing a man who ran a local corner shop.
[9] Upon emerging from Feltham, Murray devoted energy to the gym, lifting weights and drinking weight-gain shakes to add bulk to his lanky, 6' frame.
[9] Some officers at Plumstead Police Station told his biographer others felt wary, it would be best not to aggravate him and added "he's a very dangerous man.
[9] Weeks later, Murray was caught up in a turf war with rival drug dealers that led to the arrest of Epstein and more than a dozen others, many ending up in prison.
[9] Shortly after dodging arrest Murray was introduced to mixed martial arts, and he competed in his first fight on 5 December 1999 at an event called "Millennium Brawl" that was held at Hemel Hempstead Pavilion.
[9] Martin Bowers, who ran Peacock's with his brothers Tony and Paul, described Murray as "a very nice boy" who "conducted himself well.
[9] At the same time that Murray was training at Peacock's Gym the Bowers brothers were planning a series of robberies, the biggest being a brazen raid on a high-security warehouse at Gatwick Airport; their scheme involved disguising themselves as security officers, using a fake Brink's-Mat van to get into the depot, and then stealing £1 million in foreign currency.
[9] After Scotland Yard found out about the planned heist all three brothers were arrested and jailed; it has been speculated that while Murray had no prior knowledge about the caper, the schematics that were later revealed publicly may have given him some of the ideas that were used in the similar Securitas depot robbery.
"[11] Murray's next fight was just weeks later, a 9 July contest against Danny Rushton, a fighter who had gained a reputation for toughness due to his competing in true no-holds-barred competitions in Russia.
This was Murray's only fight in the UFC due to complications with his US visa as a result of ongoing criminal prosecution against him in the UK for assault, after he attacked a man during a road rage incident.
Murray asserts he knocked Ortiz out with a five punch combination and a boot to the head with steel toe boots when Tito Ortiz was down and out – a claim substantiated by Matt Hughes in his book Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History,[13] as well as Pat Miletich during an interview with ESPN and the documentary Catching lighting,[14] and also the announcer Bruce Buffer in Mike Tyson's Hotboxin' podcast.
[citation needed] On 25 June 2006, in a joint operation with Moroccan police, Murray was arrested at a shopping centre in the Souissi district of the capital Rabat for suspected involvement in the Securitas depot robbery.
[21] Time Inc. announced on 4 August 2008 that they would be making a film about Lee Murray's alleged role in the robbery, based on an article about him in Sports Illustrated called "Breaking the Bank".
[23] In March 2023, Showtime announced the airing of their four episode docuseries Catching Lightning as part of its original programming for April 2023.