Holly Holm’s dreams of capturing the title in the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title were ended by Germaine de Randamie in eventful fashion. de Randamie twice struck ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ after the horn had sounded to capture the belt in the inaugural 145-pound title fight on Saturday night in Brooklyn, N.Y. The former women’s bantamweight […]
Holly Holm’s dreams of capturing the title in the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title were ended by Germaine de Randamie in eventful fashion. de Randamie twice struck ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ after the horn had sounded to capture the belt in the inaugural 145-pound title fight on Saturday night in Brooklyn, N.Y. The former women’s bantamweight […]
Well that was interesting to say the least. UFC 208 wasn’t the most action packed event of the new year and it’s definitely left us with more questions than answers at its conclusion. Holly Holm failed to be the first woman to win belts in multiple divisions as she dropped a razor close decision to Germaine de Randamie or the post bell puncher as she’s begun to be labeled. The fight was competitive with a few slow spots here and there. But the drama surrounding the main event more than made up for any lulls in the action. So what’s the takeaway from UFC 208?
Well that was interesting to say the least. UFC 208 wasn’t the most action packed event of the new year and it’s definitely left us with more questions than answers at its conclusion. Holly Holm failed to be the first woman to win belts in multiple divisions as she dropped a razor close decision to Germaine de Randamie or the post bell puncher as she’s begun to be labeled. The fight was competitive with a few slow spots here and there. But the drama surrounding the main event more than made up for any lulls in the action. So what’s the takeaway from UFC 208?
Holly Holm Has Nothing To Be Sorry About
A lot of people want to rag on Holly Holm because she missed some key opportunities to take advantage of a rocked de Randamie. But the perhaps the biggest critic of Holm was herself. At the post fight press conference she seemed to be beating up on herself almost as harshly as Germaine did during the bout. While Holm does need to work on the technique in her takedowns, thinking that she was being stupid isn’t going to solve things. Many believed that she won and while that may be scant consolation, it’s something she should hold onto as she takes the next step in her career. She does have a bloodthirsty streak, but she can no longer hesitate when she has her opponent on the ropes.
Germaine de Randamie Isn’t A Cheater
Germaine de Randamie is the new women’s featherweight champ and already people are disrespecting her reign. While she won the decision, many believe that Holm deserved the nod. But perhaps the biggest impression de Randamie made on the fans was the fact that she continually landed punches to Holm’s chin after the bell. Many believe points should have been taken, which isn’t too outrageous a call. What is pretty dumb are people believing de Randamie is a cheater. If anything, Germaine exhibited her hotblooded nature more than proving that she’s a cheat. The heat of the moment affects fighters in different ways. I’ve thrown a punch or kick a bit late, but not to take advantage. When your mind is in fight mode sometimes slip ups really can occur. But really it’s a situation for the ref. Germaine will have her chance to prove she’s the legit champion in time. Until then all the fans and haters will have to accept the judges decision.
Referees Suck
Yeah…they really do. Next time the UFC has a belt on the line they better call in “Big” John McCarthy and Herb Dean every time. Doesn’t mean there won’t be any chance at controversy, but at least you’d have some tried and true refs with plenty of experience on hand.
What are your takeaways from UFC 208?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
No. 2-ranked UFC middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza scored yet another victory at last night’s (Feb. 11, 2017) UFC 208 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, submitting No. 13-ranked Tim Boetsch in the first round of their main event bout. Having won 9 of his last 11 bouts, “Jacare” is undoubtedly deserving of
No. 2-ranked UFC middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza scored yet another victory at last night’s (Feb. 11, 2017) UFC 208 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, submitting No. 13-ranked Tim Boetsch in the first round of their main event bout.
Having won 9 of his last 11 bouts, “Jacare” is undoubtedly deserving of a title shot, but 185-pound champion Michael Bisping is expected to next defend his title against No. 1-ranked Yoel Romero this spring.
With that being said, Souza doesn’t appear to be interested in waiting for a title shot:
“I want to fight the champion, but if that’s going to take a while, I prefer to take another fight because I don’t want to sit around, I wasn’t born to sit around,” Souza said during the UFC 208 post-fight conference. “So I’ll take another fight if it’s going to take too long to get a title shot.”
Souza has actually fought Romero before, dropping a controversial decision loss to the former Olympian at Dec. 2015’s UFC 194, a loss he wants to prove was a fluke:
“Yes, of course that’s an option, that’s a fight I want,” ‘Jacare’ said. “I’ve never lost a rematch, and with Romero, it’s not going to be any different. I’ll prove I didn’t lose to him, I lost to the judges.”
If not given a title shot, who would you like to see Souza take on next?
UFC 208 will undoubtedly go down as being eventful, but for all the wrong reasons, although one fight which did stand out as a positive was Poirier v Miller. UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie earned its fair share of criticism in the MMA world. The event which took place on Saturday, Feb. 11 at […]
UFC 208 will undoubtedly go down as being eventful, but for all the wrong reasons, although one fight which did stand out as a positive was Poirier v Miller. UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie earned its fair share of criticism in the MMA world. The event which took place on Saturday, Feb. 11 at […]
Fighters can’t always have exciting match-ups, but that hasn’t stopped Glover Teixeira from being critical of his performance last night (Feb. 11). Teixeira rebounded from a knockout loss to Anthony Johnson with a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 208. It was Teixeira’s first decision win since his Jan. 2013 bout with Quinton […]
Fighters can’t always have exciting match-ups, but that hasn’t stopped Glover Teixeira from being critical of his performance last night (Feb. 11). Teixeira rebounded from a knockout loss to Anthony Johnson with a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 208. It was Teixeira’s first decision win since his Jan. 2013 bout with Quinton […]
Fighters can’t always have exciting match-ups, but that hasn’t stopped Glover Teixeira from being critical of his performance last night (Feb. 11). Teixeira rebounded from a knockout loss to Anthony Johnson with a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 208. It was Teixeira’s first decision win since his Jan. 2013 bout with Quinton […]
Fighters can’t always have exciting match-ups, but that hasn’t stopped Glover Teixeira from being critical of his performance last night (Feb. 11). Teixeira rebounded from a knockout loss to Anthony Johnson with a unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 208. It was Teixeira’s first decision win since his Jan. 2013 bout with Quinton […]
