Grasso gets by Markos in co-main event thriller

The co-main event of Saturday night's UFC Mexico City card certainly did not disappoint.

At the conclusion of a back-and-forth three-round war, it was the hometown favorite Alexa Grasso edging out a split-decision victory over No. 9 ranked strawweight contender Randa Markos.

As was the case with the majority of the non-stoppage fights on the evening, identifying a leader between Grasso and Markos presented a difficult test from start to finish.

But with a sizable strike advantage, both in terms of common and significant connections, the Mexico native was evidently able to take the deciding round in two of three scorers' books.

Capitalizing on the opportunity against a ranked opportunity should go a long way toward Grasso establishing herself in the UFC, as she's now 2-1 since making her promotion debut and rock-solid 10-1 for her career.

Markos, meanwhile, drops to 7-5.