UFC on FOX 17 results recap: Randa Markos vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz fight review and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Strawweight fighters Randa Markos and Karolina Kowalkiewicz battled last night (Dec. 19, 2015) at UFC on FOX 17 inside Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Markos had an excellent run on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which resulted in a strong ranking inside the Strawweight division. Last night, Markos was looking to capitalize on that position and propel herself into the title ranks.

Meanwhile, Kowalkiewicz was making her Octagon debut against one of the top-ranked women in the world. A strange position to be sure, but it was nevertheless a massive opportunity for the Polish prospect.

She certainly capitalized.

The fighters opened the bout with a heated exchange, wasting little time to trade blows. Before long, Kowalkiewicz had found her range and was landing the better straight shots.

However, Markos was hanging around and trading. Plus, she was extremely aggressive and hunting for the takedown, though it didn't work out for her.

Nonetheless, Markos aggression kept the round extremely close.

Kowalkiewicz started out the round well, scoring with more straight punches. Then, Markos switched it up and finally scored with a takedown, moving onto her opponent's back immediately after.

Markos did a nice job maintaining position until the end of the round. As Kowalkiewicz stood up and tried to shake her opponent off, Markos kept her body triangle tight and continually looked for the choke.

The second round belonged to Markos.

Back on their feet, Kowalkiewicz continued to land a higher volume of straight punches. Markos worked for a couple takedown attempts, but she never got deep and her opponent punished her attempts.

Near the end of the round, Kowalkiewicz reversed a takedown and moved into the mount. For the final minute of the fight, Kowalkiewicz dominated with ground strikes.

It was the strong third round Kowalkiewicz needed, as she clearly dropped the second. Ultimately, all three judges awarded Kowalkiewicz the unanimous decision.

This was a big win for Kowalkiewicz. She came in to square off with one of the top-ranked fighters in the world -- and while it wasn't always pretty -- she's undoubtedly earn a position inside the Top 10.

The biggest advantage Kowalkiewicz held in this bout was her kickboxing. Kowalkiewicz worked at a high rate and utilized lots of straight punches, which really helped her touch up her opponent, whose head movement is lacking.

Additionally, Kowalkiewicz's long punches forced her opponent to take awkward shots. Then, she capitalize on those awkward shots with reversals or punches on the break, which largely won her the fight.

It all stemmed from her superior kickboxing.

Following this win, Kowalkiewicz deserves another Top 10-ranked opponent to really see where she stands. For example, a scrap with Joanne Calderwood would make sense.

On the other hand, the issues in Markos' game were really exposed here. She's not the most technical fighter and really relies on her athleticism, which didn't work out well when she was unable to implement her game against a more skilled striker.

Furthermore, Markos definitely slowed down in this fight, She got tired in her last one as well, but she was able to out-scramble her opponent and rely on her athleticism. Again, that simply didn't work here.

Still, Markos is quite young in her career and has plenty of room to grow. In her next bout, Markos should face off with Paige VanZant, who's a similarly talented athlete looking to grow her technical skill.

Last night, Karoline Kowalkiewicz upset Randa Markos in her Octagon debut. How high can the Polish fighter climb?

For complete UFC on FOX 17: "Dos Anjos vs Cerrone" results and play-by-play, click HERE!