We previously reported that the UFC will hold an inaugural women’s Featherweight title bout, between former Bantamweight champion Holly Holm and No. 11 ranked Germaine De Randamie. The bout is set to go down at UFC 208 from Brooklyn, New York, and leaves out Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino, who has been campaigning the most for the division’s creation.
When asked during a recent interview with ESPN (courtesy of LowKickMMA) UFC President Dana White brushed off accusations that the match was made to spite ‘Cyborg’.
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“We’re out to disrespect Cyborg? She said she couldn’t make 145 pounds in eight weeks. We offered her a second and a third fight. She turned them down. With everything I’ve got going on in my life, the last thing I’m thinking is, ‘Hey, let’s get together and disrespect Cyborg.’
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“This is a business. I had two girls who wanted to fight for the 145-pound title. This is the pros. We brought her in because she said she could make 135 pounds. When she couldn’t, the weight cut was too hard, we created the 145-pound division — and she still doesn’t want to fight,” he added.
He went on to say that a rematch between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm could be next if all plays out correctly:
“This is a business of opportunity. When opportunity arises, you jump up and take it. If you don’t, the bus is gone, and it passes you by. If Holly wins and becomes a champion, and that’s the scenario [Rousey regains the title]? I guarantee people will want to see it.”
Holm is on the back of a two-fight losing streak after having defeated Rousey for the title, and interestingly enough, they are the first and only losses on ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’s’ historic career.
Rousey comes off of her first loss in her MMA career to Holm, in which ‘Rowdy’ suffered a nasty first round knockout after a devastating round-house kick from the former multiple time kickboxing champion. Before we focus on a rematch between the two legends, however, Holm must first get past a tough test in De Randamie in February.
Holm and De Randamie will meet live on pay-per-view (PPV) for the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title, from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on February 11, 2017.
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