TUF 20 Episode 1 Recap: Randa Markos Upsets Tecia TorresThe historic 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter officially debuted tonight and the all-female title tournament began with a significant upset. Canadian standout Randa Markos scored the first win for Team Pettis by defeating Team Melendez’s number one pick, Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres.

For the first time in the show’s lengthy history, The Ultimate Fighter 20 will crown a UFC champion when the winner becomes the inaugural 115-pound UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. Markos made a big statement with her victory over Torres and she now moves on to the quarterfinal round.

 

Markos (4-1-0 pro) countered early leg kicks from Torres (4-0-0 pro) in tonight’s first elimination round bout by clinching in search of a takedown. Torres scored with a nice combination and Markos answered back with a knee and a takedown, but she wound up on the bottom. The fighters stood up and Torres countered another Markos takedown by jumping on her back.

Both women landed punches on the feet and Markos finally got Torres down, but Torres countered with punches and she trapped a now-bloodied Markos in an inverted triangle choke. The round ended with Markos throwing knees to the body and Torres answering blow-for-blow with hard elbows to the ribs.

Round two began with an exchange of hard leg kicks and Markos took Torres down again. She landed short elbows and briefly passed to side control before Torres scrambled and regained full guard. She spun into an armbar, but Markos pulled her arm free and she resumed landing elbows from side control. Markos mounted Torres late in the round and she dropped big elbow strikes until the bell. The bout was ruled even after ten minutes and went to a sudden victory round.

The final round began cautiously as the fighters traded jabs early on. Torres landed a quick flurry and Markos walked her down as Torres circled on the outside. A powerful knee landed for Markos and the fighters clinched against the fence. Markos reversed a takedown by throwing Torres to the mat and she dragged her back down seconds later. The fight ended with Markos landing punches from mount.

All three judges scored the final round 10-9 for the #14-ranked Markos, who took a well-deserved Unanimous Decision victory over the heavily-favoured #3-ranked Torres. While the win will not count on Markos’s official pro record, it is nevertheless the biggest victory of her career. Team Pettis took control of the fight picks for next week’s episode and matched up #2-ranked Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood against #15-ranked Emily Kagan of Team Melendez. The Calderwood-Kagan fight airs next Wednesday night.

The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned” airs every Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360. The winner of the gruelling competition will become the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.

 

  1. What a freakin fight…I don’t think Markos stole that fight…it was a split decision that could have gone either way. The takedowns and the second round brought it dead even but the full mount in the end told the judges that if there were 15 more seconds, Markos elbows would have ended it.

  2. Agreed – great fight, great first episode, great tournament format – this is going to be the greatest TUF season ever!

  3. Hey andy…i cant believe the show aired with ratings just shy of 600,000. I thought for sure that 1 million would be a low estimate. Based on RR twitter numbers and the fact that these girls were all at the top of their game, I thought the crossover appeal combined with the success of RR during the last two years…the numbers should have been higher. I wondwr if the sampling process could have been flawed a bit…what do you think?????

  4. All I know is I will be glued to FS1, Wednesday nights, for the next 12 weeks. Can’t wait to watch Rose, Bec, justine…and all the rest!#!!

  5. Hey Mike – I too was surprised at the low numbers. But I heard that TUF 19 (Edgar vs. Penn) was not a good season at all (Dana White himself blasted it as being a bad series) and that TUF 19 may have kept some viewers away from TUF 20. I think the numbers will not only improve over time, but will soon eclipse the 1 million mark you mention and continue from there. There are supposed to be 13 fights total (does that mean one night we’re going to get 2 fights??) plus the Finale which will, of course, be part of a regular UFC-type show.

    I just think the world-class skill level of these girls, combined with the tournament format, and the quality of every single fight this season that we’re hearing about – will ultimately draw huge numbers and attract a large number of new fans to the UFC. It will be fun to watch. And I’ll be glued to FS1 for the next 12 weeks right along with you!

  6. Where can I find out the stats of each female and if they where Invicta?

  7. The Sherdog FightFinder. Here: http://www.sherdog.com/events