Nina Ansaroff
Age: 32
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 8-5
UFC Record: 2-2
Notable Wins: Angela Hill
Notable Losses: Barb Honchak, Carla Esparza, Justine Kish
Last Fight: Decision win over Angela Hill
Fighter Profile: The girlfriend of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, Ansaroff hasn’t come close to the caliber of fighter that her larger companion has had in the UFC, but she’s still carved out a spot for herself on he roster. Ansaroff is a pretty well-rounded fighter who has really good, technical striking on the feet along with an improving ground game. For a fighter at 115lbs she actually has quite a few finishes as well. She may never be a champion, but she’s definitely a tough out for anyone at strawweight.
Randa Markos
Age: 32
Nationality: Iraqi-Canadian
MMA Record: 8-5
UFC Record: 4-4
Notable Wins: Carla Esparza, Aisling Daly
Notable Losses: Cortney Casey, Alexa Grasso, Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Last Fight: Decision win over Juliana Lima
Fighter Profile: A standout on TUF 20, Markos has had a true up-and-down start to her UFC career as she’s alternated wins and losses in her eight bouts since coming to the UFC. At her best, Markos is one of the top strawweights on the roster as she’s a high-output fighter who is tough and durable and willing to stand and trade. It’s allowed her to remain competitive with pretty much everyone she’s been put in the Octagon with. But her lack of stopping power has really hurt her, as she often goes to decisions where she leaves the fights in the hands of the judges. Markos is talented, but perhaps has too many holes in her game to be a champion.
Fight Breakdown: I see this fight primarily taking place on the feet, and while I do think it will be a competitive fight in the standup I still think you have to give the advantage to Ansaroff in the striking department as she is more varied with her strikes. Markos is tough and durable and I fully expect the fight to go the full three rounds, but I think Ansaroff will land the clear, harder strikes throughout the 15 minutes. Most women’s stawweight fights go the distance and I don’t expect this one to be any different, though that also means you take the risk of going to the judges and you never know what they’ll say. But regardless, I think Ansaroff gets her hand raised.
Prediction: Nina Ansaroff via decision
