Randa Markos remembers the moment she was finally free of The Ultimate Fighter house. For six weeks, the Iraqi-Canadian was cut off from her loved ones, as she was locked up in the Las Vegas home with 15 other womens strawweight fighters and given no free access to the outside world. As a result, life during that time consisted of little more than training, eating and sleeping — not to mention the occasional bit of drama. As with previous seasons of the popular reality series, Markos and her fellow cast members were denied any communication with their families and forced to surrender their phones. In the past, this kind of isolation has some driven some fighters to their breaking points. Its also yielded a few out-of-competition brawls, as well as damaged property. Markos knew exactly what she was getting herself into before entering the infamous house, but admitted it was still tough being cut off from her loved ones. "I was mentally prepared for it, so I knew if it got really bad to just stay grounded," said Markos during an interview in downtown Toronto. "As the weeks went on, I started to miss my family a lot. It wasnt so much that I was missing them, but I was just worried something might have happened. I wanted to make sure everything was OK with them. That really affected me, not being able to call my family, talk to them and see how they were doing. "I got my phone back and was like, How do I use this thing?" she laughed. "It had been so long. Id never been that far away from my phone. I wanted to call out, but forgot how. First thing I did was call my husband and then I called my family." Markos will be featured on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned, which premieres tonight. Over the course of the shows 20th season, the group of 16 athletes will be winnowed down to two finalists who will then battle for the inaugural UFC womens 115-pound title at the live finale at Las Vegass Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Fri., Dec. 12. The coaches, lightweight champ Anthony Pettis and challenger Gilbert Melendez are set to lock horns in the co-main event of UFC 181 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Dec. 6. Though being cooped up proved to be a tough, yet rewarding, experience for Markos, her absence was equally challenging for her loved ones. Markos husband, Jeff Thomas, said it was difficult not being able to see his wife on her birthday. "After the first week, I was just like, I miss her and cant talk to her — especially with her birthday coming up. I cant even wish her happy birthday. This is crazy," said Thomas. "Wed never been away from each other for that long in the longest time. It felt really different. "I sort of knew it was her goal to get in. Shes always said, I want to see how far I can get before we have kids. I knew how bad she wants to have kids, so I knew shed do anything to get to where she wanted to be. When that opportunity came, it was just the next step for her." Of course, being separated from her family was only part of the challenge. Over the month and a half long filming schedule, TUF cast members can potentially fight as many as three times, provided they keep winning. This means they have to keep their weight constantly on point due to the short turnaround between bouts. Then there are potential personality clashes with other athletes. To make matters worse, theres no real privacy to speak of, as everything is committed to film. Markos said her time on the show made her both a better and tougher fighter, but admitted watching herself on television will be an awkward experience. "You come out of there a lot stronger," said Markos. "For anyone who went in there, youre coming out stronger mentally and physically. It was a great experience. So people made it hard, but it was still one of the greatest experiences. "I dont know how Im going to come across to people. Whats done is done and I cant change it. So Im just going to sit there, watch it and hope for the best. There are a few things I said where I was like, Why did I say that? It sounds so stupid." The experience will no doubt be equally surreal for Thomas, who has to watch his wife compete against the top fighters in the world. Though he has faith in Markos skills, Thomas said he gets anxious before each of her fights. "When it starts, Im nervous as all hell," Thomas said. "I dont like seeing her get punched in the face. I dont like seeing her get hit — nothing like that — but I know her style. Once she gets to a certain point in the fight, I know its over and she won. Then I dont have to worry anymore. If she gets her (opponent) on the ground — and once I see that shes looking comfortable in there — its less stressful. But its never fun to watch her get punched in the face." For Markos, the hard part is done for now. With her stint in the house behind her, shes focused on improving her overall game. Though she learned a lot from her TUF coaches, she admitted shes still only scraped the surface of her potential. "I dont think Im where I want to be right now," Markos said. "I know I have a lot of improving to do and Im constantly wanting to learn every day. So they helped me out a lot with things I wasnt sure about. So I definitely came out of there with a huge amount of knowledge. "Its the most important thing in my life right now, just having that opportunity and being able to show everyone that Im a Canadian and Im also from the Middle East. I like to show all the little girls that look up to me at my gym that you dont have to be like some other people are. Just be yourself and just be respectful. It means a lot to me that I can go out there and show people who I am as a person, not just as a fighter." Nike Air Max 270 React Triple Black . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. Nike Air Max 270 Sale Outlet . 42 sitting next to the bench. The 57-year-old with greying hair couldnt box out or grab a rebound, but owner Ted Leonsis waved his red towel and egged on a cheering crowd that chanted "Free Nene!" The Wizards did just fine without the suspended Brazilian forward. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-react-sale.html. Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. 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Bobrovsky, a goaltender for the NHLs Columbus Blue Jackets, made 22 saves to keep the Norwegians off the scoreboard. It was the first win of the tournament for Bobrovsky, who was a tough-luck loser in 3-2 shootout loss to the United States in group play. The host Russians are under enormous pressure to win gold in Sochi and they are hoping to take the same road Canada used en route to its Olympic title at the 2010 Vancouver Games. The Canadians were the sixth overall seed coming out of the preliminary round four years ago in Vancouver, but still went on to capture the gold medal. Lars Haugen stopped 27-of-30 shots in the loss. Norway failed to record a single win in four games at the Sochi Olympics and was outscored by a 16-3 margin in the tournament. Norway played Tuesday without forward Mats Zuccarello, the lone NHLer on the teams roster. The New York Ranger missed the contest due to a hand injury. Zuccarello failed to score in any of Norways three games in the group stage. Russia opened a 1-0 lead early in the second period on Radulovs goal at the 4:12 mark. Radulov charged through the neutral zone and down the right wing before wheeling around the net and sending a backhand shot on net. The puck hit off the skate of Norways Morten Ask before finding its way into the net.dddddddddddd The goal was the first for Russia, not including shootouts, in 101 minutes, 28 seconds. The Russians dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the United States on Saturday and followed with a 1-0 shootout win over Slovakia to end group play on Sunday. Norway was whistled for a penalty 1:35 after Radulovs goal, but Russia was unable to convert on the ensuing man advantage. The Russians had plenty of offensive zone time on the power play, but couldnt get one past Haugen. However, Russia was able to extend the lead to 2-0 later in the second period. Radulov received a pass from Datsyuk in the left circle and hit the post with a backhand attempt. The puck then hit off Haugens back and briefly stayed out of the net until Ilya Kovalchuk knocked it across the line from the right side of the crease. Vladimir Tarasenko had a chance to extend the Russian lead to three goals, but he was stopped by Haugen on a breakaway with just under four minutes gone in the third period. Alex Ovechkin missed a breakaway attempt later in the third period. The Washington Capitals superstar appeared to be tripped by a Norwegian player on the breakaway, but no call was made. The Russians started slowly, firing just seven shots on net in a scoreless opening period. Norway had six shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes and both teams failed to convert on a power-play opportunity in the first. Russia padded its cushion with a pair of goals in the final two minutes of play. Radulov recorded an empty-net goal with 1:07 remaining and Alexei Tereshenko scored with the goaltender back in the game just 27 seconds later. ' ' '