The announcement of two separate bouts recently have meant the official UFC debuts of strawweights Cory McKenna and Kanako Murata are upcoming.
Kay Hansen vs. Cory McKenna
Following her successful win on TV series “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Cory McKenna will be matched with Kay Hansen on UFC’s November 14th show. News of the booking was revealed on an episode of the Contender Series last Tuesday.
McKenna earned her contract in August, defeating Vanessa Demopoulos via decision to get signed to the UFC.
Hansen made her UFC debut last June, defeated former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Jinh Yu Frey with a third-round triangle armbar. The short notice fight. extended her winning streak to three-in-a-row.
Livinha Souza vs. Kanako Murata
A clash of former Invicta FC Strawweight Champions will be on the card as well, as Livinha Souza is set to face the debuting Kanako Murata. The matchup was first reported by Raphael Marinho of Combate.
Murata carries a strong seven-fight winning streak into the cage that kicked off in 2017. Her last win was in November, defeating Emily Ducote via split decision to win the then-vacant Invicta FC strawweight belt. News of Murata’s signing to the UFC was learned last July.
Souza took this booking shortly after her last win, as the Brazilian prospect defeated Ashley Yoder at UFC 252. The fight was a bounce back for Souza, who lost to Brianna Van Buren in 2019. Souza has fought four times in the UFC in total, with her two first fights being wins as well.
With the UFC’s November shows still somewhat down the line, there isn’t a whole lot of matchups announced. Here’s the November 14th card currently in place.
Bout 3: Louis Smolka (16-7) vs. Jose Alberto Quinonez (8-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Kay Hansen (7-3) vs. Cory McKenna (5-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Livinha Souza (14-2) vs. Kanako Murata (11-1) (Strawweight)
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