LAS VEGAS – Vanessa Demopoulos beat Kanako Murata with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 229 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Demopoulos, who won for the fourth time in five fights.
Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Kanako Murata
Result: Vanessa Demopoulos def. Kanako Murata via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Updated records: Demopoulos (10-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC), Murata (12-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Key stats: Murata had more than 10 total minutes of control time.
Demopoulos on the fight's key moment
“I’m feeling absolutely amazing. I mean, I couldn’t feel better. I personally felt like I had won the fight, but you never know when it goes to the judges’ scorecards. I feel like sometimes the judges change up what it is that they’re looking for, and from a control aspect, she did have top positional control. But I felt like I was doing so much damage from the bottom. I didn’t see a way that I had lost, aside from actual control time.”
Demopoulos on hoping for respect
“I think that it just takes fighting people that others are respecting. I was a disrespected underdog in this fight. Can we talk about that? I think I was like a +260 (betting underdog) or something of that nature. She was like a -320 (favorite) going into this. Everybody is always counting me out every single fight. What do I (have) to do? You guys, I’m knocking down every single opponent that is in there with me. I’m knocking these people down. I’m out jiu-jitsu-ing them on the ground. I’m doing damage to everybody. It doesn’t matter what fight I am in. You know, that I was in there. I am hurting people. What’s it going to take to get some respect in, in this division? That’s what it’s going to take for me to get to the top 15, is apparently beating sizable opponents. I felt like with the amount that I was an underdog in this and still came out on top, I believe that I’ve earned a little bit of respect, or at least I hope so.”
Demopoulos on what she wants next
“I’m eyeing to be a part of the top 15. I want to start working my way toward that. I know that my coaches want that for me, as well. We’re going to continue to work hard every single day in between. I’m willing to step back in here whenever they need me. I had one of the best weight cuts I’ve ever had before – one of the best camps I’ve ever had. I was in amazing shape, and I’m going to stay to that.”
To hear more from Demopoulos, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 229.
