UFC on FOX 17: Can Dos Anjos make it two out of two against Cowboy?
UFC on FOX 17 closes out a successful 2015 for the company with its Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos defending his beltWith the recently implemented and stringent USADA testing, Jon Jones’s unfortunate car-gate incident, Nick Diaz’s ludicrous suspension and the Irish takeover of the UFC all propping up what has been a topsy-turvy year for the company outside of the octagon, UFC on FOX 17 yields an exciting array of fights that promise to close out an unpredictable year of results inside of it in style. Featuring fights that each have the potential to steal the show on the night, the main event in the Lightweight division between wildly popular challenger Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and a champion eager to cement his standing in Rafael Dos Anjos is also likely to entail much relevance for the UFC and its biggest star Conor McGregor, going forward.Not to be outdone, the heavyweight clash on the card finally pits one of the UFC’s most potent knock-out artists in Junior Dos Santos against Alaistair Overeem, an appetizing match-up between two pure strikers that could have come to pass on two instances earlier, had the Dutchman not defaulted on both occasions. However what is undoubtedly shaping up to be a testy encounter between Nate Diaz and Michael Johnson, further stoked by an altercation after the open workout session, could well end up being the fight of the night given neither man’s proclivity to retract their words or their steps in the lead up to their encounter.With the action kicked off by Randa Markos and UFC debutant Karolina Kowalkiewicz, in what can also be expected to be a hard-fought encounter to set the ball rolling for the night’s proceedings, UFC on FOX 17 has all the markings of being a juicy card for the fans to sink their teeth into and close out what has already turned out into a hugely eventful year for the company on a tasteful note.
#1 Randa Markos vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz
With the opening fight on the UFC on FOX cards generally associated with being barnburners, the showdown between Randa Markos and undefeated Polish debutant Karolina Kowalkiewicz has every chance of living up to the hype and setting the tone for the fights to follow. Randa Markos, despite her unimposing demeanour, is as tough as they come and is one of those fighters that inevitably draws her opponents into scraps rather then let them settle into establishing their rhythm and gameplan.
Facing her is Polish debutant Karolina Kowalkiewicz, with a thus far unblemished record of 7-0, who seems to primarily be a striker but is also comfortable on the ground given that 2 out of her 7 victories have come via submission. How she deals with the tendency of Markos to always be in the face of her opponents and take them down may eventually end up deciding the direction in which the pendulum of the fight swings.
Understandably since this is her UFC debut, Kowalkiewicz enters the contest as a wildcard, but to be matched up against someone of the heart of Randa Markos could yet serve to either kickstart her UFC career in impressive fashion or sideline her from the onset. While Markos stood out for her grit in the Ultimate Fighter show, we cannot merely consign her just as a tough fighter given that she has started training at the Tristar Gym under the able tutelage of Firas Zahabi for the last few months.
Expect improvements in the stand-up department from Markos in addition to her natural ground game and wicked arm-bar, which should make for an interesting fight against Kowalkiewicz to say the least, as the opening header of the UFC on FOX 17 card.
Prediction: Randa Markos via Armbar