De Randamie and Holm call for a rematch
Both fighters in the UFC 208 main event call for a rematch
The UFC 208 Germaine de Randamie vs. Holly Holm main event ended with controversy. GDR won the unanimous decision in a fight a majority of media saw going the other way. That in an of itself means little, but she twice struck Holm significantly after the bell, and a 1-point deduction could have been warranted, which would have left the fight a draw.
In a message on her social network, de Randamie offered a simple solution.
Woke up yesterday to a lot of support and a lot of controversy, she wrote. I should be on the highest of highs right now but after my long flight home to Holland, I couldn’t stop thinking about the events that took place last night and some of the critics trying to take away what should be one of the greatest moments of my career. I want to say that it was a heated battle with lots of emotion but I am not a dirty fighter. I have always trained to fight to the end or until the referee steps in. Never did I punch around or over the referee to deliver a cheap shot on Holly.
I have nothing but respect for Holly and the UFC. And because of that I want to say right now that I think I owe it to Holly and the fans to do this fight again to make sure that the winner of this historic belt is crystal clear. Holly, let’s do this again.
Holm expressed similar sentiments about a rematch at the post-fight press conference.
“I think it warrants a rematch,” said Holm as transcribed by MMA Mania. “When you have more than half the people saying the fight should have gone the other way, usually that warrants a rematch. So that would be awesome.The fight could have gone either way. I felt like I had three rounds, but I also had her rocked twice and didn’t capitalize on it, and that’s my own fault.”
“She hit hard shots after the bell, those are the hardest shots I felt the whole entire fight. It wasn’t like the last punch of a combination after the bell rang. It was intentional and it was after the bell. What can you do? But I still think I could have won the fight on my own.”
“I’m sitting in a spot where my last three fights, I’m 0-3, so I’ll take whatever they’ll give me.”
The next fight for de Randamie should be vs. Cris Cyborg, but she had an anti-doping test flagged, and although it looks like it may work out, it may not be prompt, in which case a rematch could be in order.
