Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images Mike ChiappettaFeatured Columnist IIFebruary 12, 2017
The thing about new is that it is supposed to be fresh, unblemished, perfect. And easy. New is supposed to be carefree and undemanding of its owners.
If only the UFC matchmakers had it that good.
After years of hemming on the idea of a womens featherweight division, the promotion finally caved and established a belt, but only after it was left in a lurch and with few other options. It was a reluctant undertaking, and the bungling of the booking left long-term ramifications that are still resounding.
At Saturday nights UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York, the echo continued to reverberate.
Sure, the UFC finally crowned a champion when Germaine de Randamie defeated Holly Holm in a unanimous decision, but it was a moment that wasnt close to the positive it should have been. Instead, the organization was left with a controversial outcome, a falling star, a champion ready to sidestep her first challenger and a top contender still facing a potential performance-enhancing drug violation.
These three women are the entirety of a division, meaning the division is in total and complete disarray.
First things first.
Holm may end up being the biggest story of the night after suffering her third straight defeat. Once a clear golden girl heir to Ronda Rousey, Holm has lost every bit of momentum she earned on that legendary night in Melbourne, Australia.
One year ago at this time, Holm was on top of the world. A few months removed from that shocking knockout over Rousey, she had upped her profile with a series of appearances on major media shows. She was on the verge of following Rousey into superstardom.
Better yet, she assured the fight world that fighting was her life, that nothing would distract her from her focus.
But then she faced a stunner of her own, submitting to Miesha Tate late in a fight she had been handily winning, before losing an uninspired decision to Valentina Shevchenko last July. The stretch marked the first two-fight losing streak of her combat sports career.
On Saturday, she wasnt completely outclassed by De Randamieand in fact, she had the fights most significant strike, a straight left that dropped De Randamie to her knees in the fifth. But for at least the early part of the five-rounder, Holm had trouble finding her opponent and ate stiff counter strikes for her trouble.
Time after time, Holm failed in her takedown triesshe went a woeful 0-of-9, according to FightMetricand the inability to meaningfully threaten De Randamie there limited her offense.
The decision was controversial, but that it ends like this, at the hands (and feet) of De Randamie, is as big a surprise. As a UFC entity, the Dutch fighter wasnt anonymous, but she wasnt far off. Despite a stunningly successful kickboxing career, her time as a mixed martial artist had been mostly inconsistent.
Until now, she had been unable to translate her mythical 37-0 kickboxing background to the cage in any kind of reliable manner, particularly against fighters who would not be scared off by what she had accomplished in the past. Most times she had stepped up to experienced competition she either struggled (split-decision win over Julie Kedzie) or lost (Amanda Nunes).
As a result, she had never even established herself as a serious title threat as a bantamweight.
Even Saturday, she needed a bit of help. At the end of the second round, De Randamie and Holm were exchanging, and a moment after the horn sounded to signify the close of action, she fired off a right hand that wobbled Holm.
Incensed, Holms corner called for a point deduction, but referee Todd Anderson took no action. The next round, the same situation, another De Randamie right hand after the bell.
Again, Holms corner demanded a point be taken away, but Anderson instead issuing a warning.
Had he followed through on a deduction, the fightwhich all three judges scored 48-47would have been ruled a draw.
It was in [the] heat of [the] moment, I apologize, De Randamie said. The first time [the ref] said it was on the buzzer, it wasnt late. It was in the heat of [the] moment. I apologize. Im not like that.
That was certainly of little comfort to Holm.
You look at the scoring, and you look at what the ref has to do, and yes, that could have changed the whole way the fight went, Holm said. But I look at what I could have done differently, and it could have changed the fight, too.
The matchup was a strange one from the get-go. After years of flirting with longtime featherweight queen Cris Cyborg Justino, the UFC signed her and asked her to go through multiple weight cuts in trying to push her toward 135. Justino never made it all the way down to the bantamweight limit, but her efforts went in vain after the UFC booked a featherweight title fight without her.
To be fair, the promotion did try to include Justino in the inaugural pairing, but after she asked for an extra month to recover from her difficult September 2016 weight cut, the UFC balked and quickly moved on without her.
For those that pay attention to such developments, it immediately put a fugazi stamp on the UFC 208 proceedings.
Now, De Randamie is the champion, but what does it mean? There may not be a single MMA fan alive who thinks she is the best womens featherweight on earth. Not one. Even if Justino comes with a caveat, and even if its a huge one, she has been too good for too long to ignore.
So the UFC is effectively asking fans to live in a world of make believe where this belt isnt just a place-holder.
Adding a degree of difficulty to that is De Randamie herself. Just seconds after winning, UFCannouncer JoeRogan asked herabout the possibility of facing Cyborg, who happened to be in attendance.
You know, I want to fight everybody, the Dutch fighter said. If shes the one I have to fight, Ill fight her. Right now I need surgery on my hand, so Ill get surgery.
She went on to say that this surgery was something she really needed, saying she had broken her hand. That sounded reasonable until she explained that shed injured it against Larissa Pacheco. Two years ago.
And so, while the UFC would like to say the stage is set for what comes next, thats not even close to the case. Its bad enough that Cyborg has to address her problems with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to get eligible again, and that she could be facing a suspension; now, suddenly, De Randamie is ready to disappear for a while. And Holm? Shes not completely out of the mix, but shes fading fast.
It's rare that something so new is so problematic, but for the UFC, the start of the featherweight division was a nightmare kind of night.
Excerpt from:
Holly Holm Loses, De Randamie Sidesteps Cyborg and Featherweights in Disarray - Bleacher Report
- Upload your Real body to a Virtual Avatar ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Transcendent Consciousness for Transcendent Technologies : Part I - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Transcendent Consciousness for Transcendent Technologies: Part II - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Visions of the Future - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lessons from the Silver Surfer ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Playing God in a Video Game ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Rebellious Voyeur in our Society - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Renewable Energy and the New world - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Chennai Science Festival 2008 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cyborg Football Time ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Wont be posting for a while - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritual Transcendence in Transhumanism now published - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Widgetize time ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Inconvenient Truth indeed ! - Google style - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The latest Cyborg movie ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lost in Transcendence : A Tribute to Dr.Albert Hofmann - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Who came first ? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How to truly become "BetterHumans" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- A day in the life of a Transhuman Memestar - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- My Lonely Love - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The First "body slaves" : how ready are we for the posthuman body ? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Realizing our humble place in the posthuman civilization ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Brain controlled devices have come of age ! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Touch and Go - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cyborg Mystic - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Avatar..a great movie ! - January 31st, 2010 [January 31st, 2010]
- Iron Man 2 and the cyborg technology offshoots - June 11th, 2010 [June 11th, 2010]
- Saving the "Humanism" in Transhumanism - June 13th, 2010 [June 13th, 2010]
- Christina is Bionic - June 22nd, 2010 [June 22nd, 2010]
- My recent article in IEET - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- REASONS FOR LOVE AND HOPE TO OTHER SPECIES IN THE POSTHUMAN FUTURE - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Misleading Perceptions of Improving “The Human Condition” - April 10th, 2011 [April 10th, 2011]
- Jean-Claude Van Damme - CYBORG (1989) Part 1 - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Cris Cyborg Spinning Back Kick KO - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Cris Cyborg Suplexes way to Gold Medal Mundials (BJJ Worlds) 2011 - Video - April 30th, 2012 [April 30th, 2012]
- Cryptic Metal Gear Rising trailer lets you not understand the story right now - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- 009 Re:Cyborg Anime Film's Live-Action Promo Streamed - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- 009 Re:Cyborg's Extended "International Version" Trailer Posted - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Colourblind artist wants to be world’s first cyborg - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Moribito Designer Asou to Draw 009 Re:Cyborg Manga - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- National Geographic announces its Emerging Explorers for 2012 - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Colourblind artist wants cyborg eye in Irish passport - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Week in science faces our cyborg future - May 20th, 2012 [May 20th, 2012]
- Gary Oldman - Gary Oldman Signs Up For Robocop Remake - May 25th, 2012 [May 25th, 2012]
- Gary Oldman joining 'RoboCop' remake - May 25th, 2012 [May 25th, 2012]
- Gary Oldman signs up for Robocop remake - May 26th, 2012 [May 26th, 2012]
- Supertrailer - The best trailers of the week packed into one cinematic video - June 2nd, 2012 [June 2nd, 2012]
- Policemen Undergo Stress Management Seminar - June 3rd, 2012 [June 3rd, 2012]
- Scott Coker Says Cyborg Vs Rousey at 135 Will Happen: Fan Reaction - June 4th, 2012 [June 4th, 2012]
- MMAFighting: Coker vows Cyborg-Rousey fight - June 4th, 2012 [June 4th, 2012]
- Would Ronda Rousey Beat Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos in a Fight? Fan's View - June 5th, 2012 [June 5th, 2012]
- Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg: Is the Biggest Fight Strikeforce Can Make - June 5th, 2012 [June 5th, 2012]
- Scott Coker on Ronda Rousey vs. Cyborg: "Cyborg Is a Whole Other Level" - June 5th, 2012 [June 5th, 2012]
- Rousey vs. Cyborg in January? 'She Wants My Arm, I Want Her Head': Fan's Look - June 6th, 2012 [June 6th, 2012]
- DIY cyborg appendage is less exciting than it sounds (video) - June 8th, 2012 [June 8th, 2012]
- Robot Chicken goes free range, Seth Green says - June 9th, 2012 [June 9th, 2012]
- Cyborg Fuel Cell Powered by Brain Fluids - June 13th, 2012 [June 13th, 2012]
- Hugh Laurie - Hugh Laurie To Play Robocop Villain - June 13th, 2012 [June 13th, 2012]
- Hugh Laurie set to play villain in Robocop remake - June 13th, 2012 [June 13th, 2012]
- Hugh Laurie is being lined up to star in 'RoboCop' - June 14th, 2012 [June 14th, 2012]
- CFT: Star recruit Henry decommits from Georgia - June 15th, 2012 [June 15th, 2012]
- Cris Cyborg and Sarah Kaufman Mean Mugging on Fight Promo Video: Fan Reaction - June 18th, 2012 [June 18th, 2012]
- Amped Shows the Downside of Becoming a Cyborg - June 18th, 2012 [June 18th, 2012]
- Is that really just a fly? Swarms of cyborg insect drones are the future of military surveillance - June 19th, 2012 [June 19th, 2012]
- Interior-Decorating Androids, Coming to a Living Room Near You - June 19th, 2012 [June 19th, 2012]
- A message for our cyborg drivers - June 23rd, 2012 [June 23rd, 2012]
- Cyborg system stifles your need to drink water - June 24th, 2012 [June 24th, 2012]
- Cyborg makes art using seventh sense - June 30th, 2012 [June 30th, 2012]
- A Surgical Implant for Seeing Colors Through Sound - July 2nd, 2012 [July 2nd, 2012]
- My life as a cyborg - July 2nd, 2012 [July 2nd, 2012]
- Making Location Services Slick & Simple - July 2nd, 2012 [July 2nd, 2012]
- Cyborg Gaming Mouse - July 5th, 2012 [July 5th, 2012]
- Nightwing And Cyborg Join Cast Of Injustice - July 12th, 2012 [July 12th, 2012]
- Nightwing and Cyborg coming to Injustice: Gods Among Us - July 12th, 2012 [July 12th, 2012]
- See Cyborg and Nightwing in 'Injustice: Gods Among Us' - July 12th, 2012 [July 12th, 2012]
- SDCC 2012: Nightwing and Cyborg Join 'Injustice: Gods Among Us' - July 12th, 2012 [July 12th, 2012]
- NEWS: Cyborg and Nightwing Revealed for Injustice: Gods Among Us - July 12th, 2012 [July 12th, 2012]
- 'Injustice' reveals Cyborg and Nightwing - July 13th, 2012 [July 13th, 2012]
- Human Cyborg: McDonald’s Employees Assaulted Me For Wearing My Gear - July 17th, 2012 [July 17th, 2012]
- Do Not Anger the Cyborg, People! - July 17th, 2012 [July 17th, 2012]