De Randamie gets unanimous nod over Holm for 1st UFC women's 145-lb title
Germaine de Randamie etched her name in the history books Saturday.
After five rounds of hard-fought action, "The Iron Lady" took a close unanimous decision over Holly Holm to win the inaugural women's featherweight title in the main event of UFC 208 in Brooklyn.
It is the first major MMA title for the 32-year-old De Randamie, who won multiple world championships in kickboxing before making the transition to cage fighting. After a 3-1 start to her UFC career, De Randamie picked up her biggest victory by knocking off former women's bantamweight queen Holm.
All three judges scored the fight 48-47 in De Randamie's favor, with the second and fourth frames being disputed. In the first two rounds, De Randamie repeatedly beat Holm to the punch and appeared to be landing the harder shots, even as Holm chipped away at her with leg kicks.
That counter right from @IronLadyMMA continues to find a home! #UFC208 pic.twitter.com/jYp5DlPDvw
— #UFC208 (@ufc) February 12, 2017
Emotions flared at the end of Rounds 2 and 3 as both periods ended with De Randamie throwing punches at Holm after the buzzer. Referee Todd Anderson was slow to step in on both occasions, and the first instance led to near-calamity as Holm was rocked badly by a late punch:
Se salvó!! #UFC208 @grayskull @piodeportes @CDN37 pic.twitter.com/h87nTHDzos
— Manuel Acevedo Diaz (@MLAcevedo) February 12, 2017
The second incident occurred at the end of the third after Holm stunned De Randamie with a "question mark" kick:
Es la segunda vez que De Randamie no respeta el final de round #NoTeCalientesGranizo #UFC208 pic.twitter.com/TrT7g29m4y
— El Rocktagono (@elrocktagono) February 12, 2017
In the championship rounds, De Randamie began to lose steam. That allowed Holm to continue to zero in on her leg and pressure the Dutchwoman against the cage. Holm was unable to secure a takedown, but she limited De Randamie's offensive options while landing knees of her own in the clinch.
The final frame saw Holm drop De Randamie with a counter left, which made the decision that much closer.
Holm landing with the left 😱#UFC208 pic.twitter.com/qHfUQXcgFo
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) February 12, 2017
Unfortunately for Holm, the cards were not in her favor on this night and she lost her third straight bout following setbacks to Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate. The failed bid for the featherweight belt also prevented Holm from becoming just the fourth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two divisions.
Post-fight, De Randamie suggested that Cris Cyborg could be her next opponent after she tends to an injured hand.
"I want to fight Cyborg," said De Randamie. "Right now I need surgery on my hand. I need to get that fixed first."