Brazil’s [autotag]Amanda Ribas [/autotag] was determined to fight in her homeland, and her persistence paid off on Saturday.
Ribas (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to fight Paige Van Zant at UFC on ESPN+ 28 in Brasilia. When VanZant had to pull out due to an arm injury, she requested to move the fight back a month.
But Ribas refused, wanting to keep the bout in Brazil, and Canada’s [autotag]Randa Markos[/autotag] stepped in to take the strawweight fight. In the surreal setting of an empty arena due to COVID-19 concerns, Ribas put on a show, dominating from start to finish for a unanimous decision victory. The judges’ scores were 30-26, 30-25, and 30-25.
“Randa is a really tough girl … thank you to her for (taking) the fight,” Ribas said. “At the moment, UFC said Paige broke her arm. Randa said yes, so thank you.”
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Markos (10-8-1 MMA, 6-7-1 UFC) tried to come out aggressive, but it didn’t take long for the strategy to backfire, as she slipped and Ribas ended up in top position. This turned into a rinse-and-repeat process over the fight’s first two rounds. Markos would manage to get back to her feet, and then find herself back on the mat, as Ribas mixed flashy moves like spinning back fists and kicks with the rest of her striking repertoire to set up her takedowns.
In case there was any doubt left, Markos put on a clinic performance in the third round. She scored a takedown, continually improved her position, worked for multiple submissions, and dished out ground-and-pound in between, all the way to the final horn.
With her third career decision victory, Ribas has now won four in a row. Markos has now dropped two of her past three after her seventh career decision loss.
Randa Markos (10-7-1 MMA, 6-6-1 UFC) vs. Amanda Ribas (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC)
The women’s strawweight bout was part of the UFC on ESPN+ 28 preliminary card at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 28 results include:
- Amanda Ribas def. Randa Markos via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Aleksei Kunchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Rani Yahya vs. Enrique Barzola ruled a majority draw (28-29, 28-28, 28-28)
- Maryna Moroz def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- David Dvorak def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bea Malecki def. Veronica Macedo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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