Randa Markos of Windsor, Ont., is the lone Canadian competing on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She will be writing weekly blogs for sportsnet.ca to share an inside perspective about what went on inside the gym and house.
The Ultimate Fighter 20: Episode one recap
Watch The Ultimate Fighter 20: Team Pettis vs. Team Melendez every Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST on Sportsnet 360
Here are a few thoughts on episode three:
Bec Rawlings’ tragic loss
When we found out that Bec’s step dad died it was a sad time. She didn’t tell us. We found out through the coaches from Team Melendez bringing her flowers to the house. We all tried to comfort her as best as we could. It just goes to show how strong people are when in grief they can still find a way together to accomplish their goals.
Lisa Ellis homesick, missing her one-year-old daughter
We all knew what we where leaving behind to make a better life for the people that where waiting for us at home. I felt that knowing that her daughter was at home helped motivate her. She held it together very well despite some tears.
Jessica being one of the favourites
Going into the show I didn’t know what Jessica had accomplished in Invicta–being the former atomweight champ–but found out soon that she was one of the fighters favoured to win. But, every girl in the house had the same goal to become champ and not every girl in the house had a chance to fight in Invicta, so it was our turn to make a impact in the sport.
Fight and fight selection
Training for just for a few sessions with Jessica, I found her to be very good with her Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so I had a feeling the fight would go to the ground. I didn’t get a chance to watch the first fight they had two years ago, so I didn’t really know what to expect.
When Anthony picked Carla to fight next we felt pretty confident in her at the time that she would keep our winning streak.
Follow Randa Markos on Twitter @randamma