Karolina Kowalkiewicz makes UFC debut vs. Randa Markos at UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando

Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Undefeated Polish strawweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz, after signing with the UFC earlier this fall, has her first assignment.

Kowalkiewicz (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will meet Randa Markos (5-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC on FOX 17 in December, UFC officials announced.

UFC on FOX 17 takes place Dec. 19 at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The event’s main card airs live on FOX following expected prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. UFC on FOX 17 is headlined by a lightweight title bout between champ Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone.

A KSW champion and onetime Invicta FC fighter, Kowalkiewicz turned pro in 2012 and has posted four decisions in seven career wins. In her most recent bout, she earned a split-decision victory over Kalindra Faria in February at KSW. Three months earlier, she defeated Japanese vet Mizuki Inoue at Invicta FC 9.

Kowalkiewicz is ranked No. 5 at strawweight in the Unified Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Rankings. The UFC’s reigning 115-pound champ, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, is No. 1.

Markos fought on Season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” on which she upset Tecia Torres in her first fight in the house. She then beat Felice Herrig to advance to the semifinals. But there, she was submitted by Rose Namajunas. In her first official UFC fight at the TUF 20 Finale, she dropped a split decision to fellow semifinalist Jessica Penne. At UFC 186 in Montreal in April, though, she got her first UFC win with a decision over Aisling Daly in a short-notice fight.

With the addition to the card, UFC on FOX 17 now includes:

• Champ Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone – for lightweight title
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem
• Nate Diaz vs. Michael Johnson
• C.B. Dollaway vs. Nate Marquardt
• Tamdan McCrory vs. Josh Samman
• Danny Castillo vs. Nik Lentz
• Hayder Hassan vs. Vicente Luque
• Jim Alers vs. Cole Miller
• Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman
• Luiz Henrique vs. Francis Ngannou
• Sarah Kaufman vs. Germaine de Randamie
• Myles Jury vs. Charles Oliveira
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Randa Markos

For more on UFC on FOX 17, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.