Holly Holm believes Germaine de Randamie’s punches were too much, too late

While Germaine de Randamie was awarded a unanimous-decision victory over Holly Holm to claim the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title on Saturday night, the controversial bout did little to add clarity to the organization’s newest division.

In fact, both fighters are now asking for a rematch after a strange UFC 208 main event bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

De Randamie had success early in the fight, with Holm turning the tide late in the third round as de Randamie began to fade, but the scorecards weren’t the only source of contention.

Holm was upset about de Randamie landing punches well after the bell in both the second and third rounds. No points were deducted in either case, though de Randamie was issued a very stern reprimand by the referee the second time it happened. Had the referee elected to take a point, the fight would have been a draw.

“A lot of times the first one they give a warning,” Holm said at the post-fight news conference. “That’s kind of normal. I wouldn’t expect them to take a point even though it was intentional. The second time, you would think at that point they would do something. But I’m also one of those that thinks I shouldn’t let her do it anyway. Yes, it’s after the bell and I had stopped and she threw. It wasn’t like the last punch of a combination when the bell rang.”

Holm believes it’s possible the late punches after the bell may have been responsible for all three judges scoring the round for de Randamie even though Holm had knocked her down with a late head kick.

“It was intentional and after the bell and those were some of her best shots of the night,” Holm said. “I don’t know how the judges saw that. If they saw it as points for her, I don’t know. What can you do?”

Holm admitted the perceived lack of sportsmanship had caused her to lose some respect for de Randamie, but promised to be ready even after the bell if they fight again.

A rematch is a possibility, particularly since de Randamie doesn’t appear to have much interest in fighting theoretical top contender Cris “Cyborg” Justino, who is awaiting a ruling on any potential penalty on a possible violation of the anti-doping policy.

It appears Justino may avoid a harsh sanction, but de Randamie said after the fight she would need hand surgery and out of action for some time.

Upon arriving back home, however, de Randamie took to social media to offer Holm a rematch.

“I should be on the highest of highs right now but after my long flight home to Holland, I couldn’t stop thinking about the events that took place and some of the critics trying to take away what should be one of the greatest moments of my career,” she wrote. “I want to say that it was a heated battle with lots of emotion but I AM NOT a dirty fighter.

“Never did I punch around or over the referee to deliver a cheap shot on Holly. I have nothing but respect for Holly and the UFC, and because of that I want to say right now that I think I owe it to Holly and the fans to do this fight again to make sure the winner of this historic belt is crystal clear.”

That’s clearly an opportunity Holm would want, though the former bantamweight champion acknowledged she’s not in a powerful negotiating position at the moment.

“My last three fights, I’m 0-3,” Holm said. “I’m going to take whatever they’ll give me. ”

TITLE BOUTS SET

Two UFC belts will likely be on the line when the UFC returns to Dallas on May 13.

According to a report on Polish site Sport.pl, Joanna Jedrzejczyk will defend the women’s strawweight title against Jessica Andrade at UFC 211. Sources close to the organization confirmed the bout is expected for the event, though it has not been finalized.

It would join a main event title clash between former champion Junior dos Santos and current champ Stipe Miocic. Also on the card, Ben Rothwell will take on former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum in a contender bout.

UFC 212 will also feature a championship fight as the featherweight belts will be unified on June 3 in Rio de Janeiro.

Champion Jose Aldo will take on interim champ Max Holloway in the main event.

Aldo won the interim belt in July, which became the full title when champion Conor McGregor was stripped of the belt in November. That move enabled a bout between Holloway and Anthony Pettis to be contested for the interim title, which Holloway won by knockout.

FEDOR’S BACK

One of the greatest heavyweights of all time will return to action on Saturday night.

Fedor Emelianenko, who is 2-0 since coming out of retirement in December 2015, will make his Bellator debut against Matt Mitrione in the main event of a card in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday night.

Emelianenko, 40, has won five straight fights since three consecutive losses ended his run in Strikeforce.

Bellator 172 will air on SpikeTV at 6 p.m.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.