If she hasn’t already, Holly Holm will have to come to terms with the fact that she lost to Germaine de Randamie.
After losing a 48-47 decision at UFC 208 that saw Holm on the receiving end of some late blows at the end of the second and third rounds, Holm and her attorneys filed an appeal with the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) arguing that de Randamie should have been deducted at least one point for the late strikes, but the commission disagreed.
“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 MMA Fighting.
When watching in real time, the strikes by de Randamie did clearly occur after the horn sounded to signal the end of the round, but before Anderson was able to step in to call a halt to the action. An Association of Boxing Commissions referee trainer came out shortly after the Feb. 11 fight to say that it is the referee’s direction, not the horn, that indicates the official end of a round.
“We respect their decision and will not seek anything further, except a rematch from Germaine,” said Holm’s agent.
De Randamie has expressed openly that she would like to have a rematch with Holm due to the controversy.
Meanwhile, Cris Cyborg, who was recently cleared of any wrongdoing after a potential USADA violation, waits in the wings.
Hiscoe’s Analysis: I’m not surprised at all that the appeal didn’t go through, as it takes a lot to get a commission to overrule a referee’s decision. UFC does not appear to have any intention of letting Cyborg fight elsewhere, so they might as well use her and put her against de Randamie. I thought Holm won the fight with de Randamie and deserves a rematch based on that merit, but the fight was pretty bad so I’m not interested in seeing it again anytime soon. If UFC is serious about having a women’s featherweight division, the only fight to make is de Randamie vs. Cyborg.
WEDNESDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-After initial reports of Demian Maia vs. Jorge Masvidal being booked for the April 22 UFC Fight Night from Nashville, the fight has been officially announced for UFC 211 on May 13 from Dallas.
-UFC attorneys have filed a motion to have Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against Dana White and UFC thrown out, citing “utter dearth of specific allegations,” as grounds for dismissal of the case. Hunt fights Alistair Overeem this weekend at UFC 209.
–UFC has announced they have signed Chinese featherweight prospect Wang Guan. Guan is 15-1 with 10 KO/TKO finishes.
-Veronica Macedo is out of her fight with Lina Lansberg on the March 18 UFC Fight Night from London. UFC is seeking a new opponent for Lansberg.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ROUND-UP…
-Mike Rhodes has stepped in on short notice to fight Kendall Grove this Friday at Bellator 174 from Thackerville.
-Tom Duquesnoy vs. Patrick Williams at UFC on Fox on April 14 from Kansas City.
-John Dodson vs. Eddie Wineland at UFC Fight Night Nashville on April 22.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: TUESDAY NEWS DIGEST 2/28: Gustaffson vs. Teixeira confirmed by UFC for return to Sweden on May 28 (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
(MMATorch’s Daily News Digest features the top story of the day with added analysis, plus smaller tidbits in the News Notes section. Mike Hiscoe, who writes the News Digest Sundays through Thursdays, has a background in film criticism and previously wrote for the DVD Town and Movie Metropolis websites. His passion for Mixed Martial Arts goes back to 2005, but it was in the promotion for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie that he really got hooked.”This is my house, I build it,” is still among the all-time great UFC promos. You can follow Mike on social media under the tag @mikehiscoe. He now provides his experienced writing and perspective on live MMA events for MMATorch.)
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