History is in the making Saturday night as the UFC makes its way to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, for the very first time for UFC 208.
The main event, featuring former bantamweight champion Holly Holm vs. former kickboxing/muay thai world champion Germaine de Randamie, is being overlooked as a money-grab fight for the company’s new owners. After all, how many casual UFC fans had heard of De Randamie leading up to this fight?
This fight card is for the diehard fans, and that’s how it should be.
Holm has the unique opportunity to become the first female two-division champion, despite losing two consecutive bouts. For De Randamie, this is her opportunity to show the UFC and its audience she’s a star and become a headlining act for years to come.
How Holm wins
In all honesty, the UFC isn’t doing Holm any favors by putting her in a cage against a monster like De Randamie. By essentially feeding the 35-year-old to a much more skilled striker, the UFC is sacrificing one of its few female moneymakers in hopes that the fans will respond positively to De Randamie. It’s a risk, but the UFC has to do what it can while its superstars are on hiatus.
Holm has, predominantly, been the superior boxer and kickboxer in every matchup she’s had inside the Octagon, with the exception of Valentina Shevchenko.
The American cannot do what she does best in this fight against De Randamie for one simple reason: The Dutchwoman can out-strike Holm in every aspect of her game.
For Holm to have any chance at winning the 145-pound belt, this fight will have to go to the ground, which may seem hard to imagine—the last time one of her fights went to the ground, she was choked out by Miesha Tate.
Holm is not a world-class grappler by any means, but De Randamie is inferior on the mat. By taking the Dutch striker off her feet into a world of combat she is not comfortable in, Holm will have her best chance to get the finish or earn a decision.
How De Randamie wins
This may seem quite simple, but all De Randamie has to do is avoid getting taken down by Holm and not overcommit on any punches or kicks. By fighting within herself and to her capabilities, there’s little doubt De Randamie shouldn’t run Holm over.
The Dutchwoman isn’t afraid of getting hit, which has been evident in her past UFC fights. This can be a good or a bad thing. It’s good because she shows no fear inside of the Octagon, but it’s also bad because she may leave herself vulnerable to counterstrikes and get finished, like she did against the current 135-pound champion, Amanda Nunes.
While Holm has excellent kicks and straight punches, De Randamie‘s muay thai is off the charts. Not only can she box, but she also knows when to deliver body blows with a vicious knee or body kick to stun her opponent.
This isn’t rocket science for De Randamie. All she has to do is stay on her feet and do what she does best.
Prediction
It’s hard to imagine Holm will lose three fights in a row, but unfortunately, that is her new reality. She will not make history Saturday night, despite a good showing.
Holm will be wrongly labeled as a one-hit wonder in the UFC after knocking out Ronda Rousey, but the fight game isn’t about being fair; it’s about winning.
De Randamie will become the company’s first-ever 145-pound champion and will likely take on Cris Cyborg if she is given an exemption from her suspension.
The Dutch contender will make history and finish Holm in the second round with vicious hooks and knees to the body that will make Holm reconsider her move up the featherweight division.
With the victory, the UFC will have a new star to promote in De Randamie, who has the personality and fighting ability to take her game to the next level. Who knows, maybe even a superfight/rematch with Nunes could be on the table within the next year?
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