'It seemed a bit oversold and suspect'- Randa Markos calls out Luana Pinheiro for 'stealing' a win at UFC Vegas 25
Randa Markos has joined the league of fighters and fans accusing her opponent Luana Pinheiro of play-acting during their strawweight bout at UFC Vegas 25. In a recent Instagram post, the 35-year old UFC veteran called out Pinheiro for 'stealing' a win that Markos was bound to score.
According to Randa Markos, the upkick that resulted in her DQ loss was completely unintentional and had only grazed her opponent. Markos believes her opponent overplayed the injury. This was in contrast to Markos continuing despite taking three eye-pokes which also resulted in loss of vision. Thanking everyone involved her camp, Randa Markos wrote on Instagram:
"I’ve been in the fight game for a while now. I’ve never intentionally thrown a illegal blow. It’s a fight, shit is bound to happen. I took three eye pokes (requiring stitches and loss of vision) and never thought for a second that I wasn’t going to continue. I had such a good camp training with @travislutter, @cdpowertrain and @adams.justin1 in Texas and was ready to showcase my skills for the greatest fight promotion in the world. Yes my foot grazed her but that my opponents Inability to continue seemed a bit oversold and suspect. I let her know after the eye poke that I wasn’t leaving that cage without a win and she stole that from me. I’m excited about whatever is next. I have a tone of heart in me that needs to be let out. Thank you to everyone that helped me with this camp. I love you all and I’ll be back soon".
Randa Markos suffered the first DQ loss in the history of women's MMA
Randa Markos was looking to bounce back from a three-fight skid when she faced upcoming prospect Luana Pinheiro at UFC Vegas 25. Instead, the Iraqi-born Canadian became the first woman in MMA history to lose a fight via disqualification.
While both fighters started off aggressively, Pinheiro's elite judo was on display for most of the round. The fight was briefly paused after Randa Markos took an eye-poke from Luana Pinheiro. Markos decided to continue when cageside officials inquired if she would be able to defend herself as the fight progressed.
With just a minute remaining in the first round, Markos landed an upkick to a grounded Pinheiro, sending her dazed into the canvas.
Referee Mark Smith called the contest off at 4:16 in the first round as cageside officials deemed the Brazilian unfit to continue.