Ronny Markes had a very impressive victory at PFL 3 2019, but unfortunately did not receive any points in the standings after missing weight.
Uniondale, NY – Ronny Markes had a tough go in the first season of PFL, going 0-2. He got off to a much better start in at PFL 3 2019, finishing Sigi Pesaleli in the second round. However, due to missing weight, Markes still has a zero next to his name in the standings after coming in heavy. He was beyond apologetic after his fight.
“I just want to say, I’m so sorry to the promotion, the Professional Fighters League. Yesterday, I was no professional. I missed weight. I had a few problems in my camp, but that’s no excuse. I’m sorry to everyone here and I’m sorry to the PFL. I thank God for the opportunity to come tonight and fight. I want to say thanks to my opponent because he didn’t need to accept this fight. That shows how tough he is for accepting this fight tonight. I’m so happy and blessed to be able to fight tonight. I feel great.”
Markes had a deep arm-triangle in the first round, but couldn’t quite get the stoppage. The black belt broke down why the stoppage didn’t come.
“I didn’t get it 100-percent locked. I’m a black belt in jiu-jitsu. You can lose energy in one position though if you stay 100-percent locked. I think that’s bad for me. I let go of the position to go to the mount. I looked for the new opportunity for submission.”
This seemed to be a mismatch, with Markes having UFC experience and an 18-7 record heading into PFL 3 and Sigi Pesaleli having very little MMA experience to his name. But Pesaleli proved to be a worthy opponent.
“I see three fights in amateur, four fights in pro. He doesn’t have much background in MMA, but MMA starts in stand-up. He had a lot of kickboxing fights. He has a lot more experience than me in striking. Today, I proved I have good striking too. In the fight, he throws a punch, I throw back. I kick him, he kicks me. I think in MMA today, you need to respect everybody. It doesn’t matter if you have one fight, or 100 fights because everybody today trains everything. Training wrestling, training jiu-jitsu. I tried to submit him twice, and he defended the position. This shows how hard he’s worked on his ground game. Today in MMA, you need to respect everybody.”
With no points to his name, the pressure is on for Markes to get a big win in his next bout to secure a playoff spot.
“I’m really looking forward to my next fight. I believe I’ll be in the playoffs. I believe I’ll stop my fight before the third round. I said before, I’m sorry that I didn’t make weight. I’m blessed that my opponent accepted the fight. I’m an MMA fighter. I love this job. I love fighting. If I get points or no points, I’m happy. I feel the same. I’ll fight in July and make weight. Last year, I lost twice. This year has started off very good. I’m so happy.”
Two of the most talented fighters in the light heavyweight field, Markes and Vinny Magalhaes, are teammates who are both tied in the standings. Markes still has hope that and Magalhaes can meet in the finals.
“I’m not interested in fighting [Vinny Magalhaes]. We trained together and have talked about this. I hope, God bless, that me and him will fight in the finals. I really believe this. I will win my matches to get to the finals. Me and him are good friends, we train together every day. I don’t like the thought of fighting him before the finals.”
Check out the rest of the media scrum above.
