Holly Holm lost to Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208, her third straight defeat, but says referee and judges did her no favors.

Earlier this week, Holly Holm told reporters she was tired of being linked to Ronda Rousey and wanted to forge her own identity. At UFC 208 last night, she got a chance to do just that.

Holm couldn’t have asked for a worse start. She suffered her third-straight loss, falling to Germaine de Randamie on the scorecards. Holm, however, doesn’t feel she got a fair shake.

“She hit hard shots after the bell, those are the hardest shots I felt the whole entire fight. It was intentional. … I mean, some of her best shots of the whole night were after the bell. I don’t know how the judges saw that. If they see that as points for her then what can you do?”

– Bloody Elbow

To Holm’s point, there were several questionable blows landed by de Randamie toward the end of rounds. But fool me once? Shame on you. Fool me twice? Three times? You know the rest.

The late-strikes weren’t penalized, therefore they weren’t  penalties. That call is made at the referee’s discretion; whether or not they should have been is another conversation. When someone makes a habit of punching you at the end of a round, it’d be wise to be ready next time the bell rings.

“Next time, I’ll just be ready to throw back.”

 

Lesson learned going forward, but too little, too late this time around.

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