Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm after a close five round battle in UFC 208’s main event resulting in a unanimous decision for the Dutch fighter making her the first ever UFC Womens Featherweight Champion.
UFC 208 took place on Saturday, February 11 from the Barclay Centre in Brooklyn, New York and despite two fight cancellations, still delivered a great night of action.
De Randamie wins inaugual Featherweight title
De Randamie had the better striking throughout the fight, landing the cleaner combinations from early in the first round. Holm’s takedown attempts nearly reached double figures however she was unable to get de Randamie to the ground at any point during the 25 minute bout.
The fight was not without controversy as at the endnof the second round, de Randamie would land a hard shot on Holm late after the buzzer and then repeated the feat at the end of the third round. With many calling for a points deduction, the referee chose only to issue a warning.
Holm would have the better of the later rounds however it was too little, too late as she let vital time slip away in the clinch and allowed “The Iron Lady” to do enough to earn the unanimous decision victory 48-47 across all three judges score cards.
“The Spider” gets his first win since 2012
In the co-main event, Anderson Silva would get in the win column with a unanimous decision victory over the unusually cautious Derek Brunson.
Despite “The Spider” looking a shadow of the fighter he was during his championship reign, the spark still shone through in spells when the Brazilian threw out some wheel kicks and other capoeira moves during the fight. Brunson held back in respect of Silva’s legendary striking abilities and it cost him on the cards.
Despite landing the harder strikes and considered ahead on most people’s scorecards, Brunson would be on the losing end of the unanimous decision as an emotional Silva was left to celebrate.
Meanwhile, Middleweight contender Jacare Souza made short work of UFC veteran Tim Boetsch with a first round submission as he wasted no time securing a kimura and getting the victory.
Also on the card, Dustin Poirier and Glover Teixiera would pick up decision victories to round out the night. Texiera would dominate and outclass the less experiences Jared Cannonier whilst Poirier suffered a leg injury despite the win in a three round “fight of the night” war with the tough and robust Jim Miller.
UFC 208 Results
Women’s Featherweight Title Bout: Germaine de Randamie def. Holly Holm via Decision (Unanimous) (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Middleweight Bout: Anderson Silva def Derek Brunson via Decision (Unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Middleweight Bout: Jacare Souza def. Tim Boetsch via Submission (Kimura) (3:41 – Round 1)
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Glover Teixeira def. Jared Cannonier via Decision (Unanimous) (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Lightweight Bout: Dustin Poirier def. Jim Miller via Decision (Majority) (28-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout: Belal Muhammad def. Randy Brown via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Flyweight Bout: Wilson Reis def. Ulka Sasaki via Decision (Unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight Bout: Islam Makhachev def. Nik Lentz via Decision (Unanimous) (30-25, 30-25, 30-27)
Featherweight Bout: Rick Glenn def. Phillipe Nover via Decision (Split) (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout: Ryan LaFlare def. Roan Carneiro via Decision (Unanimous) (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
