A fighter’s job is to fight, until they’re told otherwise, that’s exactly what they’re going to do.
It wasn’t pretty, but after 25 tough minutes on Saturday night, Germaine de Randamie became the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion.
‘The Iron Lady’ outstruck Holly Holm in three of the five rounds and stuffed all nine takedown attempts en route to having that coveted golden strap wrapped around her waist. In doing so she became just the second fighter from her country to claim MMA’s top prize, following in the footsteps of Bas Ruten, who won the heavyweight title in 1999.
The shine was taken off de Randamie’s incredible achievement because of two moments in the fight in which she tagged ‘the Preacher’s Daughter’ after the buzzer sounded.
De Randamie beating Holly Holm at her own game💯 #UFC208 pic.twitter.com/8X2fLhLsAT
— Gary William® (@_GaryWilliam_) February 12, 2017
Although she apologised for the late blows in the post-fight press conference, the 10-time Muay Thai world champion was not to blame.
“It wasn’t meant for me to hit her after the bell. It was in the heat of the moment. I apologise. I’m not like that.”
The man who was responsible for ensuring the fight didn’t continue at the end of each round was the man in the middle, Todd Anderson. De Randamie is under no obligation to stop fighting until the referee steps in and the judges can only dock points if they are informed to do so.
There are a million factors that could have caused Anderson not to penalise de Randamie, but he failed to do it. That’s why Dana White took aim at him so vehemently after the show, and it’s why de Randamie shouldn’t be held accountable for how the fight was scored.
I don't believe it's the fighters responsibility to listen for the bell. There is a lot going on in there. It's easy to miss it. #UFC208
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) February 12, 2017
Two of the greatest officiators in the game, John McCarthy and Marc Goddard, have confirmed that it was Anderson’s responsibility to stop the fight at the buzzer.
@thomaskirkbrid1 the round officially ends at the call of the referee. The bell is their notification
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) October 27, 2014
Correct Mr Hardy 😉 in vast majority they do hear and respond, but it's up to us as refs to audibly, physically stop. https://t.co/Rcay6noyzG
— Marc Goddard (@marcgoddard_uk) February 13, 2017
It’s an unfortunate result for ‘The Preacher’s Daughter,’ who went from being the queen of MMA after brutally knocking out Ronda Rousey to slumping to a three-fight skid. Although, with the women’s 145 lb division still in its infancy, she’ll know she’s not far off another crack at the belt.
