Randa Markos wins hard fought decision over Aisling Daly at UFC 186

Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly was the Irish representative this Saturday night as The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada hosted UFC 186. Daly took on Canadian Randa Markos in a barn burner of a fight which could possibly decide the next women’s strawweight title contender.

It was a slow start from Daly, though, as Markos landed with power right hands at will early doors. Daly quickly tied Markos up but a takedown from Markos had her on her back after a wicked scramble. From there the Canadian showed her ability on the ground and landed in an arm triangle choke as Daly looked in big trouble. Daly remained calm though and did well to survive before getting back to her feet and took Markos down as the round lapsed.

The middle round, unlike the first, was all Daly. The Dubliner looked settled and confident from the bell and shoved her opponent against the fence before dragging it to the floor. Markos initially attained a headlock and landed some nice strikes but Daly escaped and got on top after another takedown from a cage clinch. From there Daly landed some big damage on Markos and cut her open with an elbow before attacking the kimura as the bell went.

The third round had everything on the line as the opening two were evenly shared. Daly looked much the fresher coming out but Markos sucked it up and got another headlock from a Daly trip after a prolonged clinch exchange. This time Markos controlled the headlock better and landed a number of punches to Daly before transitioning into the mount as Daly tried desperately to escape her clutches. Daly didn’t give in, though, and with a minute left found Markos attacking an arm as she again tried to get away. In the end, it was all in vain, as Daly, who showed extreme heart and grit to survive the submission attempt, lost the unanimous decision after a wonderful scrap (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)