BRASILIA, Brazil — Canadians John (The Bull) Makdessi and Randa (Quiet Storm) Markos both went down to defeat Saturday on a UFC Fight Night card.
Makdessi, a 34-year-old lightweight from Montreal, had his three-fight win streak snapped by 41-year-old Brazilian Francisco (Massaranduba) Trinaldo in a unanimous 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 decision.
Brazilian strawweight Amanda Ribas was dominant in winning a unanimous 30-26, 30-25, 30-25 decision over Markos of Windsor, Ont.
Meanwhile, No. 14 Charles (Do Bronx) Oliveira stopped lightweight Kevin (The Motown Phenom) Lee with a guillotine choke in the third round of the main event.
Trinaldo, who competed as a middleweight on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil," was the bigger man in the cage Saturday.
Fighting in his hometown, the Brazilian was the early aggressor driving Makdessi backwards and throwing heavy shots. Makdessi (17-7-0) kept busy in the second round as the Brazilian slowed down slightly.
Trinaldo (25-7-0) picked his spots in the third round, bloodying Makdessi's nose. He ended the fight with an elbow to the Canadian's face.
Trinaldo improved to 15-6-0 in the UFC while Makdessi fell to 10-7-0 in the promotion.
The UFC went ahead with its Fight Night event in Brazil without spectators in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"It's amazing to fight here even though we don't have a crowd here, there's nobody cheering for me," the Brazilian said through an interpreter. "I know everyone's at home and I have to thank the UFC for giving me this opportunity."
The 26-year-old Ribas (8-1-0) was in charge from the get-go as she improved to 3-0-0 in the UFC. The 34-year-old Markos (10-9-1) is 6-7-1 in the UFC.
Markos went down on a slip in the first round, working her way back up after the Brazilian worked her way briefly into full mount. Ribas, a heavy favourite, then hit Markos with two spinning back-kicks and took the Canadian down, punishing her with a string of elbows.
The second round ended with Ribas controlling Markos at the fence. Markos hit the Brazilian with an elbow to the face before eating a spinning back-fist.
Markos took Ribas down early in the third round, with Ribas looking for an armbar from the bottom. Markos began to leak blood from her nose. Ribas reversed position and looked for a submission, firing strikes from above.
"Since I started studying Randa Markos as an opponent, I saw that she was a very strong fighter who managed to cancel her opponents' game," said Ribas. "I was able to show that I am not just a judo athlete or a jiu-jitsu athlete or just a Muay Thai athlete. I am an MMA athlete. I fought standing up, on the ground.
"Of course I wanted the knockout or the submission, but the victory came and that is what matters."
Ribas was handed a two-year doping suspension after testing positive for ostarine following an out-of-competition urine test June 7, 2017. The ban was lifted in May 2019.
The lifting of Ribas' sanction was related to the prevalence of ostarine in a wide range of supplement products used by athletes. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency noted ostarine has frequently been found as a product contaminant.
Oliveira (29-8) ended the show by finishing Lee (18-6), a former lightweight title contender who missed weight for the bout. Oliveira has won seven straight fights by stoppage, and the Brazilian veteran's celebratory screams echoed through the empty arena.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2020.
The Canadian Press
