UFC: Kanako Murata takes Ronda Rousey’s inspiration into debut bout at UFC Vegas 14

Kanako Murata hopes to stand on the shoulders of a few combat sport giants when she makes her UFC debut this weekend, revealing in the lead-up to UFC Vegas 14 that it was MMA superstar Ronda Rousey and Japan’s Olympic wrestling queen Saori Yoshida who set the course of her own career in motion.

“Martial arts really started for me when I saw Yoshida win gold at the Beijing Olympics, that’s what got me interested in wrestling, and I have been wrestling ever since,” explained the 27-year-old Murata.

“Right when I was about to graduate from college, I was introduced to Ronda Rousey and it was after seeing her that I wanted to get into MMA. Once I saw her fight and win I knew I wanted to do the same things.”

The strawweight standout brings a 11-1 record in MMA – and a 7-0 run - into her clash with the Canadian veteran Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos (10-9-1) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas come Sunday and it is a debut that has been much anticipated by followers of Asia’s domestic scene.

Murata’s powerhouse wrestling has seen her submit four of her past five opponents, with two of those wins coming via the rarely perfected but always welcomed Von Flue choke.