Karolina Kowalkiewicz remains undefeated following her UFC debut, taking a unanimous-decision win over Randa Markos. The strawweights faced off at UFC on Fox in Orlando, Florida, which is the card headlined by Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone for the lightweight championship. The win over Markos, ranked seventh going into the fight, is big for Kowalkiewicz and will likely result in a Top 15 ranking.
Round 1
Markos throws an outside leg kick; it’s followed by a striking exchange. Kowalkiewicz lands a good right, and Markos feels it. Markos tries to clinch up, but Kowalkiewicz doesn’t want any of it and struggles to break free. Kowalkiewicz is light on her feet as Markos pursues her. Markos tries to clinch up again, gets Kowalkiewicz against the cage and clinches around the waist while they struggle against the cage.
Markos is controlling, drags Kowalkiewicz to the ground but ends up half on bottom; they stand up quickly. They exchange on the feet. Markos throws a couple of right outside leg kicks that connect and sound bad. A striking exchange ends the round.
Round 2
Kowalkiewicz throws a few leg kicks; Markos checks one. Kowalkiewicz rushes in throwing punches and follows them with kicks. Markos isn’t very aggressive and seems to be waiting for something. Markos shoots in and clinches around the waist, getting Kowalkiewicz down briefly and staying around her waist as they stand back up. They struggle against the cage. Markos stays clinched on her and eventually gets her to the ground and takes full back control, and Kowalkiewicz stands up.
Markos has a body triangle, while Kowalkiewicz tries to prevent a choke. Kowalkiewicz leans forward and does a semi-slam on Markos, but the impact is minimal, and Markos stays on her back on the mat. She controls one of Kowalkiewicz’s arms and is looking for a rear-naked choke. She doesn’t get it, but Markos completely controls her. Karlina struggles futilely to escape for the rest of the round.
Round 3
Starts with a striking exchange on the feet; Kowalkiewicz lands a couple of jabs. Markos seems to be waiting again for the perfect opening to either get an overhand right or shoot in for the takedown. Kowalkiewicz throws a body kick that Markos catches, but nothing comes of it. Kowalkiewicz’s spinning backfist audibly connects. Markos seems unfazed and uses the opportunity to rush in and clinch, pushing Kowalkiewicz against the cage, getting an underhook and throwing knees.
Kowalkiewicz manages to disengage, and they return to the center of the Octagon, Markos shoots in for a takedown and gets it, but Kowalkiewicz responds fast and rolls with it to end up on top in half guard. She gets full mount on Markos and goes for ground-and-pound while looking for an armbar. Elbows and knees to the body on Markos, who manages to use the half guard to get to her knees and then feet. The last seconds of the fight are spent on the feet.
Huge last round by @KowalkiewiczMMA #UFCOrlando https://t.co/gpLQxugahz
— #UFCOrlando (@ufc) December 20, 2015
With two scores of 29-28 and one of 30-27, Kowalkiewicz is awarded the unanimous decision win. In her post fight speech, she said, “I feel great and this feels amazing. I’m one step closer to my dreams coming true. I still can’t believe this. I had a great camp and I’m so glad that I won. I hope I get back to the Octagon soon. I want a short vacation and then I want to fight, fight, fight. I want to be a champion.”
Kowalkiewicz, who trains out of Lodz, Poland, made her debut with no losses and a notable win over Mizuki Inoue. Her last fight was in February, a split decision win over Kalindra Faria. The current strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is also Polish.
Markos recently moved to Montreal and started training under Firas Zahabi at Tristar Gym, home to fighters such as Georges St. Pierre, Rory MacDonald, and Kenny Florian. She trained out of Windsor, Ontario before, while traveling to Michigan daily to train with Michigan Top Team, as well. This was her first fight since the switch to Tristar.
Markos was born in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war and raised in Windsor; for more of her backstory, check out our piece on her childhood. She entered The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned as an unknown and emerged a legitimate strawweight contender, making it to the semi-finals before losing via armbar to Rose Namajunas.
Following the show, Markos fought Jessica Penne at the TUF finale, losing via split decision in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors. She won her next and most recent fight against Aisling Daly with a unanimous decision at UFC 186 in April.
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