Stepping in on just four weeks’ notice, TUF 20 semi-finalist Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos is set to compete in her second official UFC bout on April 25th at UFC 186: “Johnson vs Horiguchi” in Montréal, Québec, Canada. Markos takes on Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in strawweight action.
UFC officials confirmed the fight following a report from MMAFighting.com. Daly was initially slated to face Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha at UFC Fight Night 64 in Poland, but Gadelha withdrew due to a back injury. Daly now competes two weeks later against her fellow TUF 20 castmate, Markos.
Markos (4-2-0) entered TUF 20 with a solid record, but many observers expected her run on the show to end early due to the high level of competition. Instead, Markos proved her doubters wrong by upsetting tournament favourite Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres in the elimination round and she followed up by submitting Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig with an impressive scarf hold armlock in the quarterfinals. Markos was defeated by “Thug” Rose Namajunas in the semi-final round and she most recently dropped a close and competitive decision to fellow semi-finalist Jessica Penne at the TUF 20 Finale.
Daly (15-5-0) also took part in The Ultimate Fighter 20 and the Irish star advanced to the quarterfinal round by stopping Angela Magana. Her title aspirations were dashed by Penne in the quarterfinals, but Daly made a successful Octagon debut in her first official UFC bout at the TUF 20 Finale. While she did miss weight for the 115-pound fight, Daly made short work of Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers and finished the Australian with a first-round armbar. She had expected to face Gadelha in a contender’s bout in two weeks, but instead takes on Canada’s Markos in her home country.
UFC 186: “Johnson vs Horiguchi” takes place on April 25th at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The event is headlined by a UFC Flyweight Championship bout between Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi. In other women’s bouts, Sarah Kaufman faces Alexis “Ally-Gator” Davis in a bantamweight trilogy fight and Jessica “The Ragin'” Rakoczy takes on Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau in a strawweight matchup.