Germaine de Randamie offers Holly Holm a rematch to settle the controversy
New UFC women's featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie didn't get to celebrate her victory for very long before she was fending off questions about a close decision over Holly Holm amidst allegations of deliberate cheating during the fight.
In the course of the five-round fight, de Randamie appeared to tag Holm on two different occasions after the horn had sounded to signify the end of a round. The referee gave de Randamie a warning after the second incident but chose not to take any points away, which could have dramatically changed the outcome of the fight.
Holm said afterwards that she felt like the strikes were intentionally thrown after the bell and that she deserved a victory when the final scorecards were tallied.
For her part, de Randamie responded in a Facebook post on Monday released by her management team at Suckerpunch Entertainment after the new champion was forced to miss the post-fight press conference as she was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons.
Addressing the shots after the bell, de Randamie refuted that she did so intentionally -- saying she only kept fighting until the referee stepped in to stop the round.
"Woke up yesterday to a lot of support and a lot of controversy," de Randamie 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."
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Considering the controversy about those shots, not to mention the final outcome of the scoring, de Randamie says she's more than willing to give Holm another fight with the women's featherweight title on the line.
"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," de Randamie wrote.
"Holly, let's do this again."
After the fight on Saturday night, de Randamie said that she was expecting to have surgery on her hand to repair some ligament damaged suffered in a previous bout but ultimately she will consult with the UFC and her doctors on any procedure before booking her next bout.
Whether or not the UFC will give de Randamie her wish to face Holm a second time is unknown. Current top contender Cris "Cyborg" Justino is sidelined on a provisional suspension from USADA, but if she's cleared to return to action soon it's hard to imagine the UFC wouldn't look to book her against de Randamie instead.
Either way, the new women's champion is more than happy to give Holm another chance so they can settle the score once and for all.
