Randa Markos took home a razor-thin decision against Ashley Yoder at UFC Singapore on Saturday, closing out the preliminary card.
A couple of The Ultimate Fighter and UFC veterans in Randa Markos and Ashley Yoder fought in a strawweight battle in Singapore on Saturday. Yoder was looking to extend her winning streak to three fights, her longest since joining the promotion in 2016. The 32-year-old has back-to-back decision wins over Amanda Cooper and Syuri Kondo, pushing her career record to 7-4.
Markos, on the other hand, was looking to get back into the win column after stepping in on short-notice at UFC Singapore. She hadn’t won, or lost, back-to-back fights since joining the UFC in 2014, tallying a 5-6-1 record over 12 fights. Markos was 1-1 in 2019 ahead of her bout with Yoder, submitting Angela Hill in the first round in March, before losing a decision to Claudia Gadelha at UFC 239 in July.
Canada’s Markos would close the distance early at UFC Singapore, tying up Yoder along the fence. Yoder, with a noticable size advantage, controlled the wrist of Markos, and eventually overpowered her, landing her own takedown. Yoder moved to side control, but was in an awkward position, and Markos worked for a reverse triangle. Yoder maintained her compusre, while Markos proved she was dangerous off her back. Yoder, however, pulled free and began softening up the body with punches, She would try to isolate an arm, but ultimately failing. As they got back up, Markos dragged the fight right back down, trying for a choke. She didn’t have it, but Markos was now in dominant position, looking to latch on to an arm. They’d spend the last ten seconds on the feet, where Yoder had the advantage early.
Markos closed the gap early in the second, only to be reversed, and ended up trading in the clinch. The Canadian landed a solid elbow, and in a second clinch, clipped Yoder with a pair of uppercuts. Out of the clinch, Markos would clip Yoder again, this time with a right hand. Yoder would return fire. Another blow connected for Markos, but Yoder changed levels, landing a takedown and moving to half-guard. A couple of elbows from the top were a sign of things to come. Yoder would add more of those later, improving position. But Markos would scramble free, tagging Yoder with a punch as she did so. Markos got on top, slicing through the guard with her knee, then landing hammer fists to close out the round.
“Anybody’s fight heading into the third round” might be a bit cliche, but that was pretty much the case in Markos vs. Yoder. The pair kept it standing early in the round, with Markos utilizing her jab. In the turning point of the fight, Markos moved in, thinking takedown, but a scramble allowed Yoder to take the back. Markos looked to transition to top, but had to settle for trapping Yoder in half guard. Markos scrambled up, but it was Yoder firing off a body kick. Markos tagged Yoder with a left late, while Yoder fired a number of front kicks. Big swings from Markos closed out the final round, and they headed to the scorecards. There, two judges gave it to the Canadian.
🤫 Quiet Storm!@RandaMMA gets the split-decision win at #UFCSingapore pic.twitter.com/VdS30H2YQh
— UFC (@ufc) October 26, 2019
With the win, Markos continues the aforementioned trend of trading wins and losses throughout her UFC run. ‘The Quiet Storm’ has never won two fights in a row, but she’s never lost two in a row, either. Only a draw has interrupted that pattern, but she’ll get a chance to put together her first win streak next time out.
Official Result: Randa Markos def. Ashley Yoder by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
