UFC strawweight prospect Kanako Murata burst into tears after learning that the cageside doctor wouldn’t allow her to continue fighting due to a suspected broken arm.
Frustrated by the outcome, the former Olympic wrestler was visibly emotional as she suffered her first defeat inside the octagon.
The Japanese combatant suffered a severe injury to her left arm after Virna Jandiroba caught her in an armbar at the end of the opening round of their preliminary card bout at UFC Vegas 29.
The damage to Kanako Murata’s arm was very noticeable as she wasn’t even able to lift it above her waist.
The former Invicta strawweight champion put her fortitude on display as she soldiered through the pain and kept going.
However, the UFC’s physician finally stepped in at the end of round two, calling for the stoppage after examining Murata’s arm.
The fight could’ve ended sooner but neither referee Chris Tognoni nor Kanako Murata’s corner stopped the contest.
With the loss, Kanako Murata’s eight-fight winning streak came to an end as she dropped to a 12-2 record.
Meanwhile, Jandiroba improved to 17-2 and secured a much-needed rebound victory after losing to Mackenzie Dern at UFC 256.
Kanako Murata chooses the UFC over the Tokyo Olympics
Kanako Murata was set to represent her motherland at the Tokyo Olympics as a freestyle wrestler. But she reportedly chose a different career path after being inspired by former UFC women’s bantamweight Ronda Rousey.
“It was then that I knew what I wanted to do and I have never regretted it for a moment since,” said Murata in an interview with Agence France-Presse. “(Rousey) became my inspiration and she showed me the way in MMA.”
The 27-year-old dominated her competition in the minor leagues, submitting Liana Pirosin during her Invicta debut before capturing the promotion’s strawweight title against Emily Ducote five months later.
Kanako Murata finally made her way to the UFC in November 2020. She was successful in her debut, defeating Randa Markos via a unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos.
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