De Randamie, who has won her last two fights on the spin, believes lifting the inaugural women’s 145lb title will silence her detractors. I now have the opportunity to get titles in two different weight classes. It could have been the comeback fans were waiting for, after Holm knocked out Rhonda Rousey and shocked the world in November 2015 but lost against Miesha Tate and Valentina Shevchenko. A lot of people still say “congratulations on that fight” but in my heart and what I am remembering are my losses. Holm was seemingly the fresher fighter, but was unable to get anything really going in terms of takedowns other than tire out de Randamie heading into the fifth and final frame.
More damning than De Randamie’s own numbers though, are those of her recent opponents. But de Randamie again drilled Holm after the horn.
So while de Randamie left with the belt, not much was settled on Saturday. Holly went for the takedown and then de Randamie almost turned that into a trip of her own.
“It was in the heat of the moment”, said de Randamie, who said afterward she’ll need surgery on her hand.
If the last point in De Randamie’s argument piqued your interest, don’t worry, we are getting back to that. The doctors are saying it, and it’s looking good for her. Germaine turned Holm’s back against the fence and fired off brutal knees to the body.
De Randamie did it again at the end of Round 3, landing another shot after the bell though this one wasn’t as impactful.
Want your voice heard? Holly landed a slick combination, and De Randamie answered with one of her own.
To start the second stanza, Holm continued to jump in with flurries and try and exit quickly, but de Randamie was able to remain calm and pop her each time she made an attempt. However, Holm has the better striking credentials and Holm vs de Randamie is highly likely to be a striking contest for 25 minutes.
For some reason, the referee did not take a point. De Randamie kept her balance and prevented the single leg from being completed before the round expired. Holm nearly had Germaine’s back but de Randamie stayed up right and continued to throw knees to the stomach. GDR this time was the clinch initiator in order to recover. The 32-year-old Dutch star has the upper-hand in the fight as she is coming into the match on a two-match winning streak.
Holly Holm has fallen on hard times recently ever since becoming the first woman to beat Ronda Rousey, but she’ll have a chance to right the ship when she faces Germaine de Randamie for the new women’s featherweight title at UFC 208 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Both instances of shots after the bell happened during flurries from both fighters while she was in the middle of a combination.