The New York State Athletic Commission denied Holly Holm’s request to appeal her loss against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208.
“After a review of the video footage of the bout, the New York State Athletic Commission determined that there was no clear error or violation of statute or rule by Referee Todd Anderson,” an NYSAC official told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting. “Therefore, the scoring and outcome of the bout will not be modified.”
Holm protested the outcome after De Randamie struck her following the bell in both the second and third rounds. Anderson didn’t immediately separate the fighters and didn’t deduct any points from De Randamie for the late blows.
Holm addressed the late blows immediately after the fight:
De Randamie, meanwhile, disputed any notion that she fought dirty.
“I never threw any dirty shots,” she said, per Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting. “I never threw any cheap shots around the referee. As soon as he stepped in and put his arm in, I stopped. Of course, I try to hear the bell and stop, but sometimes when you’re in the heat of the moment you’re in the fight. You get hit, you hit somebody.”
“It was never intentional. That’s what upsets me so much,” she added. “People try to say I’m a dirty fighter. I’m not a dirty fighter. It really hurts me when people say that. I never had any bad intentions. I truly respect Holly. I respect the UFC. I respect Holly’s camp.”
De Randamie, who won the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight championship, did offer to give Holm a rematch after the fight. While nothing has been set in stone, Holm is 0-3 since beating Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 and is unlikely to get a higher-profile fight than a rematch with De Randamie.
“We respect their decision and will not seek anything further, except a rematch from Germaine,” Holm’s agent Lenny Fresquez told MMA Fighting following the NYSAC decision on Tuesday.
Given all the drama already surrounding the first bout, the UFC certainly wouldn’t have any difficulty marketing a rematch.
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