UFC featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie is still landing shots at Holly Holm after the horn.
Holm filed an official complaint Wednesday against referee Todd Anderson and an appeal of the result to the New York State Athletic Commission, saying the fight was skewed by de Randamie landing three heavy punches after the bell of the second and third rounds.
“If the [nonexistent] point deductions are the reasons she lost the fight, or she’s looking to make it into a no contest or a draw, she should simply just accept the offer that I put out to rematch her,” de Randamie said Thursday on a conference call, in her first public comments since Saturday night inside the Octagon.
Holm, 35, and de Randamie, 32, went the distance in the UFC’s inaugural featherweight title fight at Barclays Center for UFC 208, which did not resemble the brawl the bout was billed to be. Holm played a clinch game for the final three rounds, controlling the fight alongside the cage, but failed to register one takedown in nine attempts. De Randamie believes she was the clear winner, delivering more shots (an observation backed up by fight stats) and causing the most damage, and vehemently denied the late punches were intentional.
“The thing is, it’s a fight. Heated exchanges, nothing more,” de Randamie said. “When I throw a combination, I’m in the combination. It’s very hard to pull my hands back when I’m already in the combination. I’ve never thrown any dirty shots or threw punches around the referee. As soon as he put his arm in, I stopped.”
De Randamie acknowledged celebrating the win has been tough. She said she’s hurt by the discussions of her possibly being a dirty fighter. It’s why she’s open to a rematch with Holm.
“I still respect Holly,” de Randamie said. “I understand she’s upset. Nobody likes to lose, but I do also believe, if you look at the fight, in my opinion, I won the fight. I understand she’s not happy about it and that’s why I made the offer to her to fight again. For me, the feeling doesn’t change. She’s accomplished a lot in this sport, boxing too, and you can’t not respect Holly.”