Commission Denies Holly Holm’s Appeal Of UFC 208 Loss

Holly Holm will have to get her revenge on Germaine de Randamie the old-fashioned way.

After it was revealed ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ would appeal her highly controversial unanimous decision loss to de Randamie in the main event of February 11’s UFC 208 from Brooklyn, New York, Holm’s manager Lenny Fresquez has informed MMA Fighting that their appeal has been denied by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).

Criticism and controversy arose for the newly-crowned UFC women’s featherweight champion de Randamie when she hit Holm with some powerful punches seconds after the bell in both rounds two and three and referee Todd Anderson failed to take a point. The inexperienced official appeared to overcompensate by stepping in between the two fighters after the fourth round, but the damage was done and he’s come under extreme scrutiny as a result.

De Randamie has since issued an apology to Holm claiming she’s not a dirty fighter, and even went as far as offering her an immediate rematch for the title, an odd situation given ‘The Iron Lady’ stated she needed some time off for surgery when faced with the prospect of facing Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino in her next fight.

Holm’s team was accepting of the NYSAC’s decision, with Fresquez telling MMA Fighting they would move on to hope for the rematch de Randamie offered:

“We respect their decision and will not seek anything further, except a rematch from Germaine.”

Holm wasn’t as forgiving during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, however, noting that while many may think she’s whining and complaining about a fight she did little to win, de Randamie should own up to the fouls committed, which were intentional in Holm’s eyes:

“I’m not trying to be like a wuss about it and whine. That’s definitely not what I’m trying to do. I think that’s a hard spot for me. A lot of people keep saying, well, she hit you after the bell, how do you feel? Well, I’m a fighter. I’m not going to sit here and whine about it and complain. There’s a lot of things I could have done.

“At least own it. She knows she did it on purpose and one of them definitely rocked me.”

It remains to be seen if the rematch between de Randamie and Holm will come to fruition, but it’s hard to imagine a plausible scenario where anyone but Cyborg fights for the championship in the fledging division next.