Meet Randa Markos, The Iraqi Refugee-Turned-UFC Fighter

Meet The Iraqi Refugee-Turned-UFC Fighter
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 3: Randa Markos poses for a portrait during the TUF 20 Media Day session at the TUF gym on July 3, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Esther Lin/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 3: Randa Markos poses for a portrait during the TUF 20 Media Day session at the TUF gym on July 3, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Esther Lin/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Randa Markos didn't have much of a childhood. War will do that to a kid.

In the late 1980s, near the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Markos and her family were constantly on the move in their native Iraq. They moved from city to city, country to country riding on donkeys and in cabs, sleeping in churches, eating table scraps from strangers, even spending time in prison; Randa was only 3. Eventually, the Markos' immediate family scattered across the globe, with Randa, her parents and siblings landing in Canada. Other relatives relocated to Australia and Italy.

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