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Germaine de Randamie offers Holly Holm a rematch as a result of late blows
Criticism of new UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie about throwing late blows at the end of the second and third rounds of her title fight Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with Holly Holm has prompted de Randamie to take to Facebook to offer Holm a rematch to quell the controversy.
De Randamie won a unanimous decision, 48-47 on all three cards, to claim the newly created women’s featherweight belt. But had referee Todd Anderson taken a point for either of the two low blows, the fight would have been a draw.
The late blows were the topic of much debate in the MMA media the day after. Yahoo Sports put much of the blame on Anderson. MMA junkie columnist Ben Fowlkes noted that de Randamie was “the one who gave us the most significant action in her clash with Holly Holm, at times bending the rules to get there … ”
Chuck Mindenhall of MMA Fighting wrote, “Perhaps the lasting memory of Saturday night will be Holly Holm getting socked not once but twice after the horn. The referee, Todd Anderson, was late to the scene both times — at the end of the second round, and at the end of the third. Germaine de Randamie, who afterwards kind of just admitted she was caught up in the moment, got away with landing her biggest shots of the fight during the ceasefire periods. Inexplicably, there were no point deductions.”
Holm also expressed irritation at the post-fight news conference, saying she’d lost respect for de Randamie.
All of that was enough for de Randamie to explain her actions in a post on Facebook. She wrote:
First of all THANK YOU ALL from the bottom off my heart
I’m truly overwhelmed from all the love and support that I have received. This journey started 18 years ago and none of this would have been possible without so many people. I wanna thank my coaches who helped me every step down the road. I wanna thank my teammates for all the hours of work. I wanna thank my dear family and friends I know it’s been tough at times but you guys always stuck by my side through good and bad. My fans thank you for your continues support over the years.
It’s been one hell of a ride. Thank you all so much!! I can say I’m blessed to have so many amazing people surrounding me.
Last night was 18 years in the making not my best fight but I gave it my all. I do wanna say I’m not a dirty fighter. I respect Holly Holm to the fullest and never did I hit her intentionally after the bell. The first time the referee told me it was a clean shot and second time it was absolutely in the heat of the moment. My apologies to Holly and her camp if they think I did it intentionally because that was absolutely NOT the case.
Thank you all for this amazing journey
Holland I’m on my way home
UFC president Dana White, who was unhappy with the card in general, felt a point should have been taken. But in a post-fight interview with Megan Olivi, White didn’t sound enthused about a rematch.
“If the ref takes a point for hitting after the bell, it’s a draw, the only possible way this night could be any worse,” White told Olivi, beginning at the 3:13 mark in the video below.
He said that he expects Cris “Cyborg” Justino to be next, but she has issues with USADA, so until those are worked out, anything is possible.
