Randa Markos is not buying that Luana Pinheiro was too hurt to continue fighting.
This past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 23, Markos (10-11-1 MMA, 6-10-1 UFC) was disqualified for landing an illegal upkick to the head of a downed Pinheiro, which rendered the Brazilian unable to continue.
Pinheiro looked out of it, which prompted referee Mark Smith to wave the fight off in Round 1 and disqualify Markos. Pinheiro was even carried out of the cage, but no medical update has been provided on her yet.
Prior to landing the illegal blow, Markos was poked numerous times on her left eye which caused a cut on her eyelid that required stitches. After a doctor checked on her, Markos insisted she wanted to continue fighting and came out fast for the remainder of Round 1 before the fight was stopped at the 4:16 mark due to the illegal upkick.
Markos was brought to tears by the unfortunate result and took to Instagram on Sunday to give her thoughts on the fight-ending sequence, which she thinks Pinheiro exaggerated.
“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 #ufc #quietstorm #mma #easywayout #littlebitch
The loss was a tough one for Markos, who’s enduring the roughest stretch of her career having dropped four straight. Meanwhile, Dana White’s Contender Series standout Pinheiro improved to 9-1, notching her first octagon win.
UFC on ESPN 23 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card aired on ESPN2.
Randa Markos: Luana Pinheiro’s ‘inability to continue seemed a bit oversold and suspect’ in DQ loss
