Germaine de Randamie puts Julianna Pena to sleep in third round
In one of the more intriguing, yet under-hyped fights of UFC Fight Island 4, former UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie meets for Ultimate Fighter Season 18 winner, Jullianna Pena. The contest pairs the #1 ranked female bantamweight in the world in de Randamie against the #4 ranked Pena.
Seems logical that the winner of this contest could potentially earn the next crack at current champion Amanda Nunes.
So where’s the hype?
“The Iron Lady” de Randamie won the then vacant women’s 145-pound title when she defeated former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Holly Holm by way of unanimous decision at UFC 208 in February 2017.
The then champion, de Randamie, released a statement over social media that she planned to move back to the bantamweight division and rejected the fight with Cris Cyborg due to her repeated transgressions with performance enhancing drugs. Her decision on not wanting to fight Cyborg drew criticism from many in the media by claiming she was avoiding Cyborg and ignoring her responsibility as a champion to fight any and all challengers. In turn, the promotion stripped her of the title in June, leaving her without a title defense.
Pena, while ranked #4, returns to the promotion after only having competed once in three and a half years, a unanimous decision win over Nicco Montano in July 2019. Following a submission loss to now flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in January 2017, Pena took a brief hiatus from the sport as became a first time mother.
While both women are equally talented, when you pair Pena’s inactivity with the fact that many fans forgot that de Randamie is a former champion, it is hard to built excitement up for the contest. With that being said, here’s how the actual fight between these highly skilled bantamweight competitors went down.
A lot of movement from the outside by the former champion. Her reach and length are obvious. De Randamie finding a home with her striking. Pena having a hard time finding her way around the bigger opponent but then lands a takedown in the final seconds of the first round.
After getting that late success, Pena rushes in in round two and gets another takedown. Pena landing ground and pound and working for a choke but the de Randamie works her way out, reverses and the round ends with the former champ locking in a choke of her own. We have a fight ladies and gentlemen.
The third round… Pena comes out with a flurry of punches, presses de Randamie against the cage… things are looking great and then when Pena tries to go for a takedown, de Randamie locks in a guillotine choke and puts Pena to sleep.
Germain de Randamie will be next in line for a UFC women’s bantamweight title shot.
🥋 Not just a striker @IronLadyMMA #UFCFightIsland4 live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/kxea3rHfIf
— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2020
