Kanako Murata (©UFC)

Kanako Murata (村田夏南子), 27, of Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan was one of the winners at “UFC Fight Night 183,” also known as “UFC on ESPN+ 41” or “UFC Vegas 14.” It was the Japanese mixed martial artist’s first win in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring nine MMA matches, “UFC Vegas 14” took place at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 14, 2020. In the fourth bout of the evening, she fought Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos, 35, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada in the women’s strawweight division.

Mark Smith served as the referee. After three five-minute rounds, the strawweight contest was left in the hands of the three judges namely Junichiro Kamijo, Sal D’Amato and Mike Bell.

Kamijo, D’Amato and Bell all scored it 27-30 in favor of the winner. In the end, Smith raised the hand of Murata, who was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

Winning at “UFC Vegas 14” improved the professional MMA record of Murata to 12 wins and 1 loss. On the other hand, Markos now has 10 wins, 10 losses and 1 draw.

Murata made her UFC debut at “UFC Vegas 14.” It was Markos’s 16th fight in the promotion.

“Just to win my UFC debut makes me so happy,” Murata said. “I learned a lot fighting a veteran with experience like Randa Markos. I don’t mind fighting anyone, I just want to keep winning and climbing step by step.”

It was Lívia Renata “Livinha” Souza, 29, of Araraquara, Sao Paulo, Brazil who was initially set to fight Murata at “UFC Vegas 14.” However, the Brazilian MMA fighter was injured, had to pull out of the fight and was replaced by Markos.

Seven countries were represented at “UFC Vegas 14” namely Brazil, Canada, England, Guam, Japan, Northern Ireland and the U.S. Markos solely represented Canada and Murata was the sole representative of Japan.

Born in Matsuyama on August 10, 1993, Murata made her professional MMA debut in 2016. Before joining the UFC, she competed in Pancrase, Rizin Fighting Federation and Invicta Fighting Championships.