Former UFC champion Germaine De Randamie announces retirement from MMA: “The time is now”
Former UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie has retired.
‘The Iron Lady’ hasn’t competed since a trip to the octagon against Norma Dumont in April. That bout was Germaine de Randamie’s first, since a submission victory over former UFC champion Julianna Pena in October 2020. Following that win, the former titleholder became pregnant, and eventually gave birth in early 2023.
Unfortunately for Germaine de Randamie, her return to the cage didn’t go the way she expected. The Brazilian wound up easily outgrappling the former UFC champion, handing her a unanimous decision defeat. Following the loss, the 40-year-old women’s bantamweight contender vowed to fight on.
However, that bout will go down as Germaine de Randamie’s last UFC appearance. Taking to social media earlier today, the former women’s featherweight champion announced her retirement. She was initially set to face Nora Cornolle in September but was forced out due to injury. De Randamie hoped to book one final fight this year after being cleared, but with the schedule full, that won’t be happening.
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Former UFC champion Germaine de Randamie announces retirement from MMA
“This is now how I imagined it, envisioned it, and dreamed about it. Absolutely not.” Germaine de Randamie stated in the lengthy video posted to social media. “But sometimes in life, you got to roll with the punches like they say, right? The last couple of weeks, I’ve been in close contact with the UFC since I’ve been cleared by my doctor. I literally begged them for a fight this year, I begged them, ‘Give me one more fight this year.'”
She continued, “But unfortunately, the UFC told me they had no more sports left on the cards. Every card was fully booked for the rest of this year. Which, in a way, of course, disappointed me. Like I said, I’ve not envisioned it this way. This is not the way I wanted to do it, and it hurts. But it is what it is… After 25 years, I’m going to lay my gloves down. This is it, no more fighting.”
At 40 years old, Germaine de Randamie will retire with a 10-5 MMA record. The inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion previously claimed victories over Holly Holm, Larissa Pacheco, Raquel Pennington, and Julianna Pena, among others.
What do you make of this UFC news? What’s your favorite fight involving Germaine de Randamie?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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