When Germaine de Randamie was announced as part of a bout against Holly Holm at UFC 208 for the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight championship, it sent shockwaves through the sport. Not just because the UFC was launching a third women’s division, but because of who was fighting — and who wasn’t. Notably, the name left absent was Cris “Cyborg” Justino, the most devastating female featherweight in the sport. Many had expected a 145lb division in the UFC to be built around her.
Instead, UFC President Dana White let slip that she had turned multiple title fights down. Then came news of Cyborg’s anti-doping violation with USADA. Suddenly, Holm vs. de Randamie made sense.
That doesn’t mean Cyborg’s presence isn’t felt in the brand new division. When asked about the prospect of eventually fighting the Brazilian star at today’s UFC 208 media call, De Randamie was clear: she’ll fight anyone, but for the time being, her and Holm deserve the position they are in.
Cris got the offer to fight Holly, Cris got the offer to fight me, and she wasn’t able to. I don’t know the exact reason she wasn’t able to. Then Holly and I got the offer to fight each other and we both said yes. I mean if you’re a champion, you fight against everybody. Holly and I are going to fight. One of us will decide who’s the next number one, and if one of us has to defend the title against Cris Cyborg then it’ll be Cris Cyborg who we defend the title against. We’re gonna fight and no matter what people think, one of us will be the 145 champion. If you look at Holly’s credentials and if you look at my credentials, I think we’ve both accomplished a lot for the sport, so I think we both belong in the top.
UFC 208 takes place Saturday, February 11 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY. Holm vs. de Randamie serves as the main event.
